"Made One Mistake": Pakistan Legend Points Out Fault In Babar Azam's Captaincy Post Loss To India

30.08.2022 - 11:59 sports.ndtv.com

India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in a last-over thriller at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The 2022 Asia Cup match between the arch-rivals went down to the wire but all-rounder Hardik Pandya showed nerves of steel to pull off the heist for the Indian team in chase of a 148-run target.

Besides the crucial knock of Pandya, it was certainly the lack of proper planning from Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the second innings that played a big role in his side's loss to India.

The Pakistan fast bowlers finished their quota of overs by the 19th over and that saw spinner Mohammad Nawaz being handed the responsibility to bowl the last 6 balls with only 7 runs to defend.

It is worth noting that Nawaz had finished his third over by the 12th over of the innings but Babar failed to rotate his bowlers well and that saw Nawaz being brought to bowl the final over with Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja settled at the crease.

cricket India Cricket Team 2022 loss Babar Azam India Dubai Pakistan

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was the cynosure of all eyes until recently as he was in the middle or purple patch in white-ball cricket that saw him get a lot of good scores under his belt in consecutive matches. Most of these came on Pakistani soil and that led to lot of former cricketers calling for him to be added to the list of top international batters. His rankings across all formats is also very high.

Former Pakistan Pacer Hints At Babar Azam's Slow Strike Rate With Sarcastic Example

Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed has come out and made a strong statement on Babar Azam and his strike rate in T20Is. Javed claimed that in big chases, having Babar and Mohammad Rizwan can be detrimental for Pakistan as they are similar players and they tend to let the required run-rate go too high. Javed, who is the Director of Cricket for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), also said that the team selection for the T20 World Cup is still "doubtful", especially raising questions about the batting composition.

Ex South Africa Opener Suggests How Babar Azam Can Improve Strike Rate

Question On Babar Azam's Cover Drive In Pakistan's Physics Book Goes Viral

Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam didn't perform well in the recently-concluded Asia Cup tournament. But he is known to produce some shots from his bat that are simply exquisite. Among them is the cover drive. The batter looks at ease while delivering one the most famous shots from his arsenal, relying entirely on timing. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had posted a video of his cover drive shot on its Facebook page, which the users called "one of the best" in the world.

Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq backs Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan after Asia Cup loss

Asia Cup final in Dubai. Babar, currently the second ranked Twenty20 (T20) batsman in the world behind team mate Rizwan, managed only 68 runs in six innings and his form would be a concern ahead of the 20-overs World Cup in Australia beginning next month. "If someone looks at his batting, you'd just say he's unlucky, especially the way he's getting out," Saqlain said after their 23-run defeat by Sri Lanka.

Babar Azam No Longer World's No. 1 T20I Batter. This Star Replaces Him In ICC Rankings

India captain Rohit Sharma gained three slots to be at 14th while Suryakumar Yadav dropped a place to fourth among batters in the ICC T20I rankings issued on Wednesday. Rohit (612 rating points) climbed three spots after scoring a 41-ball 72 against Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup Super 4 match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Topping the batting chart is Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan (815 rating points), who has displaced his teammate and captain Babar Azam (794 rating points).