T20 World Cup 2022: "Cheating kar raha Pakistan team ke sath" - Fans slam Babar Azam after another batting failure

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's dismal form with the bat in the ongoing T20 World Cup continued as he could muster just six runs off 15 balls against South Africa in Sydney on Thursday, November 3.

Coming into the must-win game, Babar was short of runs, managing only eight runs from three innings. He was in dire need of a big knock, but his lean patch continued.

Opting to bat first, the Men in Green lost wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan in the first over itself. Mohammad Haris (28 off 11) then accumulated some quick runs before South Africa made a swift comeback.

Anrich Nortje trapped Haris in the fifth over before Lungi Ngidi got the better of the Pakistan skipper in the final over of the powerplay.

Babar fetched a ball from outside the off-stump but his shot didn't have the power to clear the ropes. Kagiso Rabada, running back from mid-on, kept his eyes on the ball all along and completed a fine catch to pile on Babar's agony.

Pakistani fans also didn't hold themselves back on social media and slammed the skipper over his poor performances in the showpiece T20 event.

Babar now has 14 runs from four games at a dismal average of 3.50. He has the worst average in the T20 World Cup among batters with a minimum of 10 runs scored.

Pakistan revive well after early batting debacle

Reeling at 43/4 in 6.3 overs, the Men in Green were staring at another batting failure. However, Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz steadied the ship with a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Although Nawaz departed after a well-made 28, Shadab Khan joined hands with Iftikhar to keep the scoreboard ticking. At the time of writing, Babar and Co. were 155/5 in 17.3 overs, fancying a total of over 180.

About the author

Ankush is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda covering news, listicles, features, and exclusives. A graduate in Commerce and an accountant by qualification, Ankush followed his true calling for sports journalism, and today, has over 8 years of experience having working for the likes of Sportzwiki and Cricfit. Ankush places a very high emphasis on factual accuracy in his articles and believes in representing the true image of the story. Writing in the simplest and most easy-to-understand language possible, especially for those not well-versed with English, is one of his strengths.

Ankush, who captained his state in the National School games, is a big fan of Ravichandran Ashwin. He admires his unconventional thinking and his eagerness to keep learning despite being a legend of the game. His favorite cricket team is Australia because of their mentality and fighting spirit, and them beating India in the 2003 World Cup final left a lasting impression on him.

Apart from watching and covering cricket, Ankush also likes to read books whenever possible.

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