Babar Azam equals Imran Khan’s unwanted feat ahead of India Asia Cup tie after recording 1st duck in two years
If the West Indies tour was India’s preparation ahead of the Asia Cup, which will be followed by the ODI World Cup in October, the tour of Afghanistan offers the same for Pakistan, as on Tuesday, the Babar Azam-led side kicked off their preparations for the continental event with the first of the three ODIs in the contest at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota. And Pakistan were handed a reality check ahead of the big event as the team collapsed for just 201 runs where captain Babar incurred a three-ball duck.
Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the first one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Pakistan and Afghanistan(AFP)
After opting to bat first, Pakistan incurred a horrible start as they lost two wickets in first two overs. Fakhar Zaman edged a shorter delivery from Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mohammad Nabi at slip in the opening over while Mujeeb Ur Rahman outfoxed Babar in the next for a duck.
It was Babar’s fourth dismissal for a duck in ODI cricket and second as a captain, which put him at par with 1992 World Cup-winning skipper Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan. He stands fourth on the list among ODI captains with Wasim Akram leading the chart with eight such dismissals, followed by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Moin Khan with four each and Misbah-ul-Haq (three). This was also his first dismissal for a duck in over two years, the last being in July 2021 against England in Cardiff.
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Across formats, it was his eighth dismissal for a duck as a captain, placing him second in the list alongside Inzamam and Misbah. Akram stands atop with 10 such dismissals. Overall, it was his 16th dismissal for a duck across his career.
Babar headed to the contest on the back of a stellar run in Lanka Premier League, where he scored 261 runs in eight innings with a century and a fifty. However, in the third delivery he faced on Tuesday evening, Babar was beaten by the fuller ball from Mujeeb that spun back in sharply. The ball struck plumb in front of middle and it was later confirmed by the TV umpire as well after Babar opted for a review.
The dismissal comes a big blow to Babar’s preparation with Pakistan slated to face their arch-rivals India next week in Sri Lanka as part of Asia Cup after taking on qualifier Nepal in their tournamentn opener on August 30.
Imam-ul-Haq remained Pakistan’s only positive in the innings with his 94-ball 61, laced with two boundaries, as Pakistan managed to score only 201 runs in 47.1 overs.
