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Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam faced the ire of cricket fans on social media platforms after his twin failures in the first Test against Australia in Perth.
He could only score 21 (54) in Pakistan's first innings earlier in the match. Babar failed to put on an improved performance in the second innings when his team desperately needed a big knock from him in a mammoth chase.
Australia batted first in the match and notched up 487 in the first innings. Pakistan were bundled out for 271 in the second innings, conceding a healthy lead of 216 runs to the hosts. The Aussies then declared their second innings at 233/5 after lunch on Day 4 (Sunday). They set a giant target of 450 for the Pakistan side in the last innings.
The visitors then got off to a poor start in the chase as they were reduced to 17/2 inside six overs. Babar walked in at this juncture with hopes of his team resting on his shoulders.
He managed to score 14 (37) before Pat Cummins' brilliant set-up resulted in his dismissal in the 15th over. After that, Pakistan lost their way and skittled out for 89, losing the match by 360 runs.
Fans were highly disappointed with Babar Azam's batting efforts as they felt he let his team down when they needed him the most. They also pointed out his failures in SENA countries in Tests. Fans went on to criticize him for the same through their posts on social media platforms.
Here are some of the reactions:
Babar Azam is still a top-quality batter for me: Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir recently put his weight behind Babar Azam after he relinquished Pakistan's captaincy following a poor 2023 World Cup campaign. In a conversation with Sportskeeda, Gambhir said:
“It’s an individual choice of players to leave or accept captaincy. Babar Azam is still a top quality batter for me. We might get to see the best of Babar now. In Pakistan, all the blame as well as the appreciation only goes to the captain. It happens to an extent in India as well, but not to the level that it happens in Pakistan.”
Do you agree with Gambhir's views above? Let us know in the comments section.
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