Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle and former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan criticised Pakistan captain Babar Azam's knock in the T20 World Cup 2024 match against the USA which is being played at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, on Thursday.
The 29-year-old made 43-ball 44 at a strike rate of 102.32. He played 19 dot balls while hitting two sixes and three fours.
Pathan, in his post on X (formerly Twitter), opined his knock didn't help to the team cause.
"On a fairly decent batting condition as a captain if you are playing 40+ ball innings with 100 strike rate. You aren’t helping your team cause," Pathan wrote.
Meanwhile, Bhogle noted that Babar was out of rhythm on a good batting surface.
"I have seen Babar Azam play many fine innings. This 44(43) won't be among them. On a decent surface, he looked strangely out of rhythm," Bhogle wrote.
It must be noted Pakistan set a 160-run target for the United States (USA) in their first match of the competition.
The USA had a brilliant start with the ball as their bowlers sent the Pakistani top-order — Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan and Fakhar Zaman — back to the pavilion for just 26 runs.
However, after losing three wickets, skipper Babar Azam and Shadab Khan played with caution and put the struggling Pakistani side back in the game.
A 72-run partnership between Babar and Shadab helped Pakistan go on top once again but Shadab walked back to the pavilion after scoring 40 runs on 25 balls.
Right after Shadab's dismissal, wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan got out on a golden duck and the wickets continued to fall.
Meanwhile, Iftikhar Ahmed departed after scoring 18 runs.
Shaheen Afridi (23 off 16 balls) provided crucial runs to Pakistan down the order and helped them conclude their innings at 159-7 in the allocated overs.
- Babar Azam
