Babar Azam - players.bio

Atletico thump Rayo, Valladolid relegated after Betis defeat

MADRID: Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano on Thursday as they bounced back from defeat at Las Palmas last weekend. Real Betis bolstered their Champions League ambitions with a 5-1 win over Real Valladolid, confirming the visitors’ long-expected relegation. Atletico have little to play for in the rest of the season with leaders Barcelona 10 points clear with five matches remaining, but produced a solid derby display. Alexander Sorloth opened the scoring in the third minute after Giuliano Simeone, son of coach Diego, crossed for the Norwegian target man to nod home at the back post. It was a formula which should have led to more goals for Atletico but the striker wasted several presentable opportunities. Sorloth headed over a few minutes later and then was denied by Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla. Atletico were outplaying Rayo but the visitors could have levelled when Isi Palazon drilled toward the far corner and Jan Oblak made a fine save. Sorloth spurned another headed opportunity before Conor Gallagher struck just before half-time. Rodrigo de Paul lofted a cross into the area which the former Chelsea midfielder nodded beyond Batalla. Oblak tipped over a Palazon header as Rayo looked for an equalizer, before Atletico substitute Antoine Griezmann fired narrowly wide after a Julian Alvarez backheel teed him up. Julian Alvarez rounded off the win in the second half with his 15th La Liga goal of the season after Griezmann sent him through. Real Betis bolstered their hopes of finishing in the top five as they hammered Valladolid at the Benito Villamarin stadium with playmaker Isco on the scoresheet. Former Brazil great Ronaldo is the majority shareholder at Valladolid, who were promoted last

Australia’s Hazlewood steers Bengaluru to win over Rajasthan

BENGALURU, India: Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood starred with 4-33 in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 11 run IPL win at home against Rajasthan Royals, who won the toss and chose to field first Thursday. Chasing 206 to win after Bengaluru’s 205-5, Rajasthan looked comfortable before Dhruv Jurel was dismissed by Hazlewood in the 19th over of the chase. Jurel scored a 34-ball 47 and was removed with 17 needed off 9 balls for the win. Hazlewood removed England’s Jofra Archer on the next ball, leaving Royals reeling with 17 needed off the final over. Earlier, Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli hit a 42-ball 70 to steer Bengaluru to a par score on a batting friendly Bengaluru wicket. Openers Kohli and Phil Salt raced to 59-0 in the powerplay before Salt was removed on 26 in the seventh over with the team on 61-1. Kohli then built an important 95 run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal before finally falling in the 16th over to Archer. Padikkal, who was batting very well, fell soon after a 27-ball 50, with Bengaluru on 161-3. Quick wickets toward the end took away the momentum before key cameos by Tim David (23) and Jitesh Sharma, who remained unbeaten on 20. Archer was Rajasthan’s standout bowler and finished with 33-1.

PSL X: Babar’s 50 helps Peshawar Zalmi cruise to 7-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars

ISLAMABAD: Spurred on by a stellar half-century by skipper Babar Azam, Peshawar Zalmi beat Lahore Qalandars by seven wickets to register their second victory of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) X edition in Lahore on Thursday. Zalmi were set a modest total of 130 runs after Azam’s side bowled out the Qalandars for a modest 129 runs in 19.2 overs. Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the Zalmi bowlers with 3/15 figures while Luke Wood and Hussain Talat returned figures of 2/25 and 2/18, respectively. The “Yellow Storm” ran into difficult earlier on during their chase, losing opener Saim Ayub for just 2 runs while star batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell for a duck. Azam kept his cool, scoring 56 runs from 42 balls and building partnerships with Mohammad Haris (20 off 16) and Hussain Talat (51 off 37) to see his team to the end. “Not an ideal start for our home leg,” the Qalandars wrote on social media platform X. “Overwhelmed with the support of our home crowd, we will come back stronger!“

Virat Kohli Slams 1st 50 At Home In IPL 2025 For RCB vs RR, Surpasses Babar Azam For Historic Feat

Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli surpassed Pakistan batter Babar Azam, registering the highest number of half-centuries while batting first in T20s. Virat achieved this unique feat during his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.

"Ego Issue Or Too Shy...": Pakistan Great Gives Scathing Verdict On Babar Azam

Legendary Pakistan cricketer Zaheer Abbas believes that Babar Azam is either an egotist or too shy too seek advice from former players, who perhaps can help him get back to form by sorting out the technical flaws in his batting. Zaheer, who scored 100 first class centuries in his career said that Babar needed to sit down and talk to his seniors. "I think either Babar has an ego issue or is too shy to seek advice from his seniors in overcoming his current situation," Zaheer said. Zaheer said there were many instances where Pakistani and Indian players had sought advice from each other when going through a bad patch.

Babar Azam Backed To Be In Same League As 'Viv Richards, Garry Sobers' And 'Bigger Than Virat Kohli'

It has been a tough couple of years for Pakistan cricket team batter Babar Azam. Babar, who was once rated as one of the top batters in the world, has been struggling to score runs in all three formats and his poor show in ICC competitions has resulted in massive criticism from both fans as well as experts. The star batter was even dropped from the Pakistan side following their dismal Champions Trophy campaign. However, Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Karachi Kings owner Salman Iqbal has backed Babar to bounce back and become a bigger cricketer than Virat Kohli. Iqbal went on to say that Babar may ended up matching legends like Sir Viv Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers.

"Either Babar Azam Has An Ego Issue Or...": Ex-Pakistan Captain On Star's Lack Of Form

As Babar Azam's flop show with the bat continues, former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has suggested that the star batter should seek help from senior players. While talking about Babar's poor form, Zaheer said that either the batter has an ego issue or he is too shy to ask for advice from his seniors. Babar continues to labour for runs after his dry spell in international cricket. Since his 151-run blitzkrieg against Nepal in August 2023, Babar is yet to score a century for Pakistan. His lack of form is also evident during the ongoing Pakistan Super League as well. The right-handed batter, who is leading Peshawar Zalmi in PSL, has scored 0 and 1 across two innings in the season so far.

Watch: Babar Azam Goes Silent On Reporter's Question, Shaheen Afridi Comes To His Rescue

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi came to star batter Babar Azam and white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan's rescue after the duo had no response to a query posed by a journalist. Shaheen, along with Babar and Rizwan, addressed the media on the eve of the start of the 10th season of Pakistan Super League (PSL). During the presser, Babar was asked to share his views on Pakistan's failure to chase totals of anything over 200 in T20 cricket.

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Babar Azam Sport News

Atletico thump Rayo, Valladolid relegated after Betis defeat

Australia’s Hazlewood steers Bengaluru to win over Rajasthan

PSL X: Babar’s 50 helps Peshawar Zalmi cruise to 7-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars

Virat Kohli Slams 1st 50 At Home In IPL 2025 For RCB vs RR, Surpasses Babar Azam For Historic Feat

"Ego Issue Or Too Shy...": Pakistan Great Gives Scathing Verdict On Babar Azam

Babar Azam Backed To Be In Same League As 'Viv Richards, Garry Sobers' And 'Bigger Than Virat Kohli'

"Either Babar Azam Has An Ego Issue Or...": Ex-Pakistan Captain On Star's Lack Of Form

Watch: Babar Azam Goes Silent On Reporter's Question, Shaheen Afridi Comes To His Rescue