Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam’s form might start to be a worry for the Men In Green as the opener registered two consecutive low scores to start the T20 World Cup 2022 campaign.
In the first match against India at the MCG, Babar was dismissed for a golden duck by left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
In the second game, on Thursday, in Perth, Babar managed to score only 4 runs after facing 9 balls in his innings, which was halted by seamer Brad Evans. It was a length ball from Evans which seemed away a little but was just enough to induce a false shot from the Pakistani skipper.
Babar tried to work it on the leg side but was early into his shot, consequently, he mistimed his shot and a leading edge flew toward point, where Ryan Burl took an easy catch to send the Pakistani skipper packing.
Babar Azam had a terrible Asia Cup campaign as well, scoring just 68 runs in 6 matches. The right-handed bounced back strongly, averaging 57 in the series against England, and 48 in the tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh.
However, now these two low scores in consecutive games have led to a massive trolling of Babar Azam on social media.
Here are some of the reactions:
Iftikhar walking out to bat after both Babar & Rizwan are dismissed in powerplay pic.twitter.com/APYZV4Yo4l
— Osama. (@ashaqeens) October 27, 2022
Dear Babar Azam this too shall pass 😂😂😂
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) October 27, 2022
One More Failure For Babar Azam, Now He Is Not Scoring Against Zimbabwe As Well
— Vaibhav Bhola 🇮🇳 (@VibhuBhola) October 27, 2022
Zimbabar Failed To Statpad Against Zimbabwe.
Only, Netherlands Is Hope For Babar Azam Now .#PAKvsZIM || #PAKvZIM pic.twitter.com/KWOmVTOtB3
— Prof. Boies 2.0🪔 (@im_Boies45) October 27, 2022
Huge wicket for Zimbabwe. Babar Azam departs early.
📸: Disney + Hotstar#PAKvsZIM #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/x1uV9Nqulb
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) October 27, 2022
Congratulations to Babar Azam. He isn’t Zimbabar anymore.#PAKvsZIM#T20WorldCup
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) October 27, 2022
Let’s all laugh at Babar Azam 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/zfokl8ZCX6
— Angoor Stark 🍇🇮🇳 (@ladywithflaws) October 27, 2022
History hasn’t been kind to Pakistan players compared with Virat Kohli. But Babar is definitely better than those players.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) October 27, 2022
Consistency is the word. Avg of Babar and Rizwan will come down to 40 after playing the same number of matches as Virat has played.
— Jahazi (@Oye_Jahazi) October 27, 2022
Meanwhile, the Pakistani bowlers restricted Zimbabwe to a below-par total of 130 in Perth. Mohammad Wasim, who replaced batsman Asif Ali in this game after Pakistan were left looking for bowling options against India, made a big impact with his four-wicket haul. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan took a three-for. For Zimbabwe, Sean Williams was the highest-scorer with 31 runs while no other batter could score more than 20.
Pakistan also had a bad start and lost both Babar and Rizwan in the powerplay, followed by the dismissal of Iftikar Ahmed after the powerplay. At the time of writing, Pakistan are 41/3 after 8 overs.
