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Babar Azam flops, Harry Brook’s 78 and Siraj toppled – October 20 Cricket highlights

Aakash Saini

Babar Azam and England players [Source: AFP]Babar Azam and England players [Source: AFP]

Babar Azam once again failed to get going for Pakistan, this time against South Africa on the opening day of the second Test. The England team racked up a huge T20I total against New Zealand courtesy of Phil Salt and Harry Brook. In other news, Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj got toppled by a Zimbabwe pacer for an elite annual record.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Monday, October 20.

Asif Afridi debuts for Pakistan at age 38

Left-arm spinner Asif Afridi was handed his maiden Test cap for Pakistan, as the cricketer replaced Hasan Ali in the playing XI for the second Test of the home series against South Africa in Rawalpindi. Aged 38 years and 299 days, Asif also became the second oldest cricketer in Pakistani Test history to make his Test debut, falling only behind Miran Bakhsh. Since Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first, Afridi’s first day out in Tests was spent entirely in the dressing room.

Babar Azam flops again but Shan Masood leads PAK command

Legendary Pakistan batter Babar Azam once again failed to excel with the bat as his lean patch continues to haunt him across all formats. Batting at number four on a seemingly batting friendly surface, Babar scored just 16 runs off 22 balls with three boundaries before he was deceived by South African senior spinner Keshav Maharaj. His captain Shan Masood, however, struck a well-compiled half-century to lead Pakistan’s command on Day 1 of the second Test. Abdullah Shafique also scored 57 at the top as Pakistan reached 259-5 in 91 overs by stumps.

Harry Brook, Salt-inspired England hammer second biggest total vs NZ

England mounted 236-4 from 20 overs against New Zealand in the second T20I match at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The innings marked England’s second highest ever T20I total against New Zealand since their 241-run effort in Napier back in 2019. Phil Salt bludgeoned 85 runs from just 56 balls with 11 boundaries and a six. Captain Harry Brook also smeared six fours and five huge sixes to clatter 78 runs off just 35 deliveries. Tom Banton chipped in with a quick 12-ball 29* before Adil Rashid’s four-wicket haul scripted England’s huge 65-run win.

Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Mandhana and Dhawan celebrate Diwali

Amidst the white-ball series in Australia and the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup in India, Indian men and women cricketers Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana, Kuldeep Yadav among others extended their best wishes to everyone celebrating the auspicious festival of Diwali. A compilation of several Indian cricketers sending their wishes to fans was shared by the official social media accounts of Star Sports. Former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan also extended his Diwali wishes by sharing a special picture with his girlfriend Sophie Shine on Instagram.

Blessing Muzarabani surpasses Mohammed Siraj on Day 1

Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani picked up three Afghanistan wickets, including that of Ibrahim Zadran to claim astonishing figures of 3-47 from his 11 overs on Day 1 of their one-off Test match at the Harare Sports Club. Muzarabani’s spell also helped him soar past Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj to become the leading wicket-taker in Tests in the year 2025 so far. Muzarabani has so far snapped 39 wickets this year, while Siraj falls at number two with 37 sticks. The Zimbabwe team also skittled the entire Afghanistan batting line-up for just 127 in their first innings on the opening day.