Pakistan will look to play modern-day cricket in South Africa, says skipper Babar Azam

KARACHI: Pakistan will adopt a "modern day" approach in the upcoming ODI series against South Africa and look to put 300 plus totals by finishing with a flourish, captain Babar Azam said on Thursday.

Pakistan will play three ODIs and four T20Is against hosts South Africa, starting with the first one-dayer in Centurion on Friday.

"We are trying to play 'modern-day cricket' for the upcoming event. We will try to gain the necessary points through the series against South Africa. We will start strong. If our finishers fire, we can reach a total above 300," Babar, who leads Pakistan in all three formats, told a virtual press conference.

"The key to getting 300 plus scores is finishing with a flurry in our innings. We haven't played a lot of ODIs since the World Cup so we are also making a fresh start with a modern day approach."

The Pakistan skipper also talked about maintaining momentum and said his team had been working hard on improving its power hitting capability.

"The players are learning. It is also about taking responsibility. Contributions from the top four are always vital. We will also have to rotate the strike. Fakhar Zaman, Imamul Haq and Mohammad Rizwan are in great form and we will see the difference," he added.

He promised to try to play fearless cricket and try out some combinations for longer periods to see which one works.

Babar said Pakistan's edge was its bowling which had the capacity to restrict teams to totals under 300.

He said the coaches had been working hard with the lower order batsmen and allrounders so that they could finish strong in ODIs and T20s as well with higher strike rates.

Babar also said that pacer Hasan Ali was 100 percent fit and available for selection as was former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"We will decide the playing XI after looking at the pitch. Every player has a particular role in the team so we will put out a balanced combination," he added.