Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam praised rising star Saim Ayub after his match-winning performance in the recently concluded third ODI against South Africa.
Taking to Instagram, Babar shared a photo of the young opener, who scored his second century in the series, with the caption: ‘Cheetah’, a tribute to Ayub’s fast and fearless style of play.
The 30-year-old, in a separate post on his social media platform, expressed his joy over Pakistan’s 3-0 series win.
“Overcome with pure joy and pride,” wrote Babar, celebrating the historic achievement.
In the third match, Pakistan achieved a 36-run victory, successfully defending their total of 308/9.
Saim Ayub starred with a brilliant 101 off 94 balls, supported by half-centuries from Babar Azam (52) and Mohammad Rizwan (53).
Agha Salman added a quickfire 48 to propel Pakistan to a competitive total.
South Africa’s chase was led by Heinrich Klaasen, who made 81 off 43 balls, and Corbin Bosch, who contributed 40 runs.
However, the hosts faltered and were bowled out for 271 in 42 overs.
Sufiyan Muqeem led the bowling attack with figures of 4/52 while Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah took two wickets each.
Mohammad Hasnain and Saim Ayub contributed one wicket each.
For his excellent all-round performance, which included two centuries, 235 runs and two wickets, Saim Ayub was named Player of the Match in the final ODI and also Player of the Series.
This historic series win not only secured a 3-0 victory for Pakistan over South Africa but also etched its name in cricketing history as the first team to achieve this feat on South African soil.
Sohail Imran is a senior reporter at Geo News.
