Pakistan captain makes BIG statement'defeating Virat Kohli's India in T20 World Cup was our best moment of the year'

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has remarked that their ICC T20 World Cup victory over arch-rivals India was the team's "best moment of the year." After restricting Virat Kohli's India to 151/7 due to teenage bowler Shaheen Afridi, Babar and opening partner Mohammad Rizwan put up an undefeated 152-run stand to enable their side win by 10-wickets in the UAE.

"It was a fantastic achievement for us as a team because we had not been able to beat India in the World Cups for so many years. It was our best moment of the year," said Babar in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast.

Babar went on to say that their semi-final loss against Australia in the same event was the most disappointing for him.

"That defeat hurt me the most this year because we had been playing so well and as a combined unit," said Babar.

He also mentioned how encouraging it was to see younger players perform well this year.

"The biggest satisfaction was seeing young talent come through for us at crucial times. It is good we are now producing young talent," he added.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman, has been nominated for the ICC Player of the Year award for 2021. Jos Buttler, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Mitchell Marsh are the other three outstanding performers that have been nominated.

The 2021 ICC Awards will honour remarkable achievements and performances in cricket from the previous year.

When it came to the game's shortest format, Rizwan dominated the roost in 2021. Rizwan struck at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89 in only 29 matches, amassing 1,326 runs.

Apart from his batsmanship, he was as reliable as ever behind the stumps, helping Pakistan reach the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer.