Sarfraz Ahmed’s personal form was the subject of heated debate as Pakistan beat Ireland in a one-off Test before squaring the two-match Test series against England at 1-1.
However, the Pakistan skipper roared back into form with a stupendous innings of 89 not out off just 49 deliveries in the first T20I against Scotland at Edinburgh on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Sarfraz’s men thumped Scotland by 84 runs in the second and final T20I to sweep the series 2-0. With this win, the 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has become the joint-most successful skipper in the T20I format in Pakistan’s history.
This was the 19th win under Sarfraz’s captaincy in just 22 matches since he took charge in September 2016. This puts him level with Shahid Afridi who also led Pakistan to 19 wins as skipper although the former all-rounder’s victories came in 43 matches.
Sarfraz’s men proved to be too good for the Scots.
With a success-rate of over 86 per cent, Sarfraz has made Pakistan into a fearsome T20I outfit, which is reflected in their rise to the top of the ranking chart.
The right-hander has now presided over 11 wins in the last 12 T20I matches. Under his leadership, Pakistan have won all eight T20I series they have played. This run includes wins over England, West Indies, ICC World XI, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and now Scotland.
Pakistan have now not lost any bilateral T20I series since the start of 2016 when they lost 2-1 to the Blackcaps in a three-match series.