Ton-up Babar Azam sets the tone ahead of ‘high intensity’ India vs Pakistan clash | Cricket News

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NEW DELHI: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Wednesday fired a warning shot with a dazzling ton ahead of the marquee India vs Pakistan Asia Cup clash on September 2.
Leading his team from the front, Babar scored a sensational 131-ball 151 to power his side to a crushing 238-run win over minnows Nepal in the tournament opener in Multan.
The ton was Babar’s in 19th in ODIs, making him the fastest to accomplish the feat (102 innings) in the format.
After the match Babar said that the win gave his side a lot of confidence ahead of the big game against India.
“This win will give us the confidence. India Pakistan will always bring high intensity, we will try our best,” Babar said.
Stitching two crucial partnerships with Mohammad Rizwan (44) and Iftikhar Ahmed (109*), Babar powered Pakistan to a mammoth 342 for 6. Talking about his knock, Babar said he was initially looking to build his innings after the early fall of wickets.

“When I went in, the ball wasn’t coming on properly, so I was trying to build an innings with Rizwan. Then we had a different phase, sometimes Rizwan gave me confidence, sometimes I gave him belief. Iftikhar also played a great innings when he came on. When he came in, I told him to play his natural game and he was comfortable after 2-3 boundaries. (On bowlers) A couple of overs we weren’t up to the mark, but the way our pacers started and then the spinners were brilliant,” said Babar.

After win in Multan, Pakistan now move to Pallekele in Sri Lanka for their match against India.