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Pakistan skipper and World No. 1 ODI batsman Babar Azam had a disappointing outing in his first appearance on the England Tour. Home team pacer Saqib Mahmood dismissed the Pakistan skipper for a two-ball duck to trigger a top-order collapse in the opposition ranks.
The England Cricket Board has had to rename their squad for the series against Pakistan after seven members from their original team tested positive for COVID-19. The whole camp has been isolated in accordance with the UK government's policies on the coronavirus.
Ben Stokes has made an impromptu return to the English side after missing the previous series and is leading his nation in the games against Pakistan. The ECB named a very inexperienced 18-man side to ensure that the series goes on according to the original schedule. The ECB has given many notable domestic performers a chance in the absence of regular stars.
New skipper Ben Stokes won the toss in Cardiff and invited the opposition to bat first. In the absence of regular pacers, most of them expected the England bowlers to struggle against the strong Pakistan team.
Babar Azam failed to give Pakistan a good start against England
But Saqib Mahmood produced an excellent performance with the new ball and gave England the ideal start. He pouched the vital wickets of Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam in the span of the first three balls of the innings to shock the Pakistan camp.
Cricket fans noticed this and soon took to Twitter to troll Babar Azam for his duck against the second-string English bowlers. They used references to his previous performances against Zimbabwe and made fun of his record against top-tier teams in International cricket. Here are some of the reactions:
Some neutral fans also sympathized with Babar Azam and supported him in his tough times. They pointed to his consistency in white-ball cricket and wished for him to score substantially in the remaining ODIs.
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