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[Saba Sports News] During the second ODI World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on September 29, Pakistan faced a challenging start, losing their openers early. However, the experienced duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan formed a resilient partnership, stabilizing the innings and helping Pakistan post a substantial total.
Babar contributed with a solid 80 before his dismissal, while Rizwan’s exceptional performance saw him score an impressive unbeaten 103 before retiring. During a post-match interview, Rizwan humorously remarked that his chemistry with Babar Azam was akin to physics. He further attributed their successful batting partnership to their strong chemistry and understanding.
Pakistan is scheduled to begin their official World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad. The highly anticipated clash against arch-rivals India is set for October 14 in Ahmedabad. India has historically dominated Pakistan in ICC tournaments, with their most recent encounter resulting in a 228-run victory for India during the Asia Cup Super 4 clash.
While the first India-Pakistan match had no result due to rain, India decisively won the second encounter. The World Cup will provide a fresh opportunity to see how the two teams perform, with India commencing their campaign against Australia on October 8 in Chennai after completing their warm-up matches.