England vs Pakistan, 4th T20I – Death, Taxes and Rizba – Pakistan restarts opening debate

Did you know that was coming?

Pakistan have been fooling themselves (and pretty much everyone) into thinking they would break the most-scoring opening partnership in T20 international history in 2024. In the first 13 matches of the year, Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam alternated dropping to No. 3, giving Saim Ayub and, briefly, Haseebullah Khan the opportunity to open.

But at the Oval, a truly inevitable change has been made: Ayub was one of the players of the tournament in last year’s Caribbean Premier League but was dropped one match into the T20 World Cup. In 12 T20I innings this year, he has scored 163 runs at an average of 13.58, with scores of 7, 6, 16 and 0 in his final four opening stands with Rizwan.

This meant that Rizwan and Babar, the pair who have scored more runs than anyone else in this format, were once again teaming up at the top of the order. There is no questioning the amount of runs they have scored together. They are the only opening partnership to score 2000-plus runs in T20Is, with an average stand of 49.18. They have scored 100-plus runs eight times, and no other player has done so more than four times.

But they have always divided opinion in Pakistan, and will no doubt do so again when they arrive in the United States this weekend. For the most part, they are hugely popular – they even have a Wikipedia sub-entry called “RizBar Fans” – and their scoring rate as a partnership – 7.98 runs per over – regularly invites criticism.

They have been more restrained in the T20 World Cup. Babar’s strike rate in both World Cups is 114.47 while Rizwan’s is just 120. There have been partnerships like the consecutive 152 that beat India by 10 wickets while there was also a stand of an under-par total of 71 in 10 overs in the 2021 semi-final loss to Australia.

This was the kind of innings that justified a cautious bent on both players, with Pakistan deciding to play a more attacking template after their loss to Ireland earlier this month, scoring more than 10 runs per over in consecutive run-chases to win the series 2-1.

But they have long preferred to bat second rather than first and this performance highlighted why. Rizwan and Babar got off to uncharacteristically fast starts against hostile new-ball bowlers. Mark Wood topped 96 mph/154 kph and Jofra Archer topped 90 mph/145 kph but both conceded early bounce. Babar threw his head back in frustration after failing to take advantage of Archer’s width.

And when Jos Buttler bowled Moeen Ali in the fifth over, it was like a carrot being dangled and Babar bit into it cleanly. He lunged towards the first off-spin ball he faced and launched Moeen into the bottom tier of the pavilion. Rizwan, squirming at his own crease in an attempt to unsettle the bowler, slid it softly past short third.

After Babar smacked Archer on the off side for consecutive boundaries, Pakistan were 59-0 with one ball remaining in the powerplay – their best opening stand of the year and their best since the pair first broke up. So when Babar sent Archer’s leg-cutter ball straight to short third on the final ball of the sixth over, it didn’t take much foresight to predict what was going to happen next.

Rizwan was clean bowled by Adil Rashid’s no-spin ball four balls later, and Pakistan’s middle order was silenced. Only Usman Khan, back at number three, made an impact, scoring 38 off 21 balls with three fours and two sixes. The rest crumbled against Rashid and Wood, with Azam Khan’s five consecutive no-runs – hit into the glove by a bouncer over his shoulder – being the culprit.

When Haris Rauf was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings, Pakistan were bowled out for the second consecutive match, going from 59 for 0 to 157 all out. No wonder Rizwan and Babar prefer to work the hard themselves if that is all the middle-order batsmen behind them can do. This is a classic example of self-perpetuation.

Rizwan and Babar are deep in the batting order, which means the middle order rarely get a chance to hit the ball. And even when they do, their performance has been disappointing as they have not had many chances to hit the ball recently. This means that Rizwan and Babar feel the need to step up to bat themselves, and once again the middle order’s opportunities to bat are limited. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

So Pakistan go into the World Cup with the same opening pair as always and the same problems as always. Over the next four weeks, they will probably beat teams they can’t beat. They will lose to teams they should beat. They’ll probably make it to the Super Eight and into the semi-finals. It’s another season of the same show.

There is still a chance that Rizwan could pick up the gloves again and reprise his role from the last two T20 World Cups.Azam was shocking in the field, missing two easy chances – the first a top edge off Phil Salt and the second a regulation outside edge off Will Jacks. There is no change.

Next time someone describes Pakistan as “unpredictable”, don’t listen. In T20 cricket, there is an inevitability to this team. Whether you fear it or run, Rizbaa will always come.