Pakistan won the tri-series after defeating New Zealand by five wickets in the final, all owing to the usually ineffective middle-order, which came through when Babar Azam and company needed it the most.
Since the two failures against Sri Lanka in the Super Four match and subsequently the Asia Cup final, Pakistan has been pressed to offer legitimate justifications for remaining with the same middle-order lineup.
The seven-T20I series against England at home was once again a source of concern for Pakistan, as the middle order continued to underperform.
Then came the tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh, and Pakistan was once again seen shifting batters up and down the order to figure out who can bat where and how well.
As a result, all-rounder Shadab Khan was promoted to number four, while Mohammad Nawaz was also requested to bat higher in the order, moving Haider Ali, Asif Ali, and Iftikhar Ahmed down one spot apiece.
Fortunately, Shadab and Nawaz came through, with the latter scoring two match-winning innings against Bangladesh and then again in the final.
This is not an option for the middle class. Everyone has played with everyone, but generally in tight situations when it is hit or miss, or for extremely short periods of time, denying them the opportunity to build relationships in the middle-order.
Good batting in the warm-ups will help the middle order to gel and learn how to handle diverse scenarios, giving them the much-needed confidence to produce when it counts the most, during the T20 World Cup games.
Pakistan had relatively few unresolved questions following their tri-series final victory against New Zealand.
In batting, the opening is sorted, the middle order, with the arrival of Shadab and Nawaz earlier than normal, appears to be alright, and the finishers are gradually but steadily finding their groove.
