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Babar Azam for Pakistan (Source: AFP)
Babar Azam is back in T20Is, but the comeback match has turned out to be disastrous for the superstar. He could face just two balls and departed for a duck, much to the disappointment of the packed Rawalpindi crowd.
The former captain walked out to bat at number 3 after the loss of Sahibzada Farhan's wicket in the fifth over. Babar Azam was expected to take his team forward on a flat wicket in pursuit of 195, but Corbin Bosch proved too hot to handle for him in the final over of the Powerplay.
The right-arm pacer bowled a back-of-a-length delivery on off, and Babar Azam tried to force the issue by trying to go inside-out. However, he was cramped for room and ended up handing an easy catch to Reeza Hendricks at covers. Thus, Babar Azam has departed for a rare duck in his T20I career, and it is not the comeback that Pakistan fans expected from their star.
Also, Babar Azam needed just nine runs to go past Rohit Sharma in the list of the leading run-scorers in the shortest format. However, he would now have to wait till the second T20I to take that record under his belt now.
Babar Azam's failure puts Pakistan under pressure
The wicket of the former captain reduced Pakistan to 33 for two inside the Powerplay in a huge run-chase. They also lost Salman Ali Agha at a score of two to make matters worse in this first T20I in Rawalpindi.
Saim Ayub too has struggled to find his rhythm and now Pakistan need to do something special in the middle overs to pull off a win. In the first half, Reeza Hendricks smashed a fifty while Tony de Zorzi, George Linde and Quinton de Kock played useful knocks to take South Africa to a good score. Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz bowled well for Pakistan, and they might have to do the job with the bat too.
