"Please arrange a match immediately with Nepal" - Twitter trolls Babar Azam for falling cheaply against Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2023

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was trolled ruthlessly after his dismissal for just 17 off 22 deliveries in the opening Super Fours clash of the 2023 Asia Cup against Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Chasing a below-par 194 runs for victory, the 28-year-old walked out to a rousing reception from the packed Lahore crowd. He did provide them with brief joy by becoming the fastest to reach 2,000 ODI runs as captain.

However, soon after, Babar dragged a skidding length delivery from Taskin Ahmed back onto his stumps, leading to stunned silence at the Gaddafi Stadium. The stylish batter was fresh off a scintillating 151 from 131 deliveries in the tournament opener against Nepal.

It was also Babar Azam's maiden Asia Cup century and his second 150+ score in his illustrious ODI career.

Despite the rare failure in the ongoing game, the No.1 ranked ODI batter has been in sparkling form, averaging over 54 in 14 matches this year. Earlier this year, the champion batter became the fastest to 5,000 ODI runs in the home ODI series against New Zealand.

Babar Azam also won the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award in 2021 and 2022 and was named the Cricketer of the Year in 2022.

However, fans on Twitter were relentless in pointing out Babar padding his stats predominantly with performances against lower-ranked teams like Zimbabwe and Nepal.

Here are some of the best reactions:

Pakistan dismissed Bangladesh for a paltry 193 in the first innings

Haris Rauf tormented the Bangladesh batters with his express pace.

Despite Babar Azam's low score, Pakistan are in pole position to register a comfortable victory in the opening Super Fours match thanks to a sensational bowling performance.

Having to bowl first on a hot afternoon in Lahore, the Pakistani pace battery was on full display, picking up nine of the 10 wickets to fall. Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/19 in six overs.

Rauf also became the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with nine scalps and was ably supported by Naseem Shah, who bagged three wickets in his second consecutive game. The pace trio of Rauf, Naseem, and Shaheen Afridi have now combined for 23 of the 30 wickets Pakistan have picked up in the three games of the Asia Cup.

After being reduced to 47/4, Bangladesh showed a bit of fight through their experienced duo, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. The pair added 100 runs for the fifth wicket before the relentless Pakistan attack opened the floodgates again and bowled them out inside 39 overs.

As things stand, the Men in Green are coasting towards victory at 123/2 in 27 overs, requiring a further 71 runs.