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[Watch] Babar Azam Perfectly Trapped As 18-Year-Old SA Pacer Makes Him His Bunny

Aakash Saini∙ Updated: Dec 22 2024, 9:11 PM

Babar Azam walking back to the pavilion [Source: @grassrootscric/x]Babar Azam walking back to the pavilion [Source: @grassrootscric/x]

Babar Azam failed to make the most of his half-century against South Africa in the third ODI of the three-match series against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The legendary Pakistani batter unfurled 52 runs at number three to notch up his 34th ODI fifty, and the second in succession this series.

In an attempt to slap young Proteas fast bowler Kwena Maphaka for a boundary around the halfway stage of the innings, Babar merely managed to find David Miller at short midwicket.

Babar Azam falls to Maphaka’s trap

South Africa’s prodigious fast bowling talent Kwena Maphaka sent down a short delivery that rushed on to the bat of a well-set Babar Azam in the 23rd over of the Pakistani innings. Babar, batting on 52* at the time, swatted the ball towards his leg side, only to get caught by an agile David Miller at short deepwicket.

Succumbing to a near-perfectly laid out trap from the 18-year-old South African speedster, Babar’s rescue act came to an end at 52 from 71 balls with seven boundaries.


Earlier in the match, Babar Azam arrived to the crease in just the third ball of the match after Kagiso Rabada consigned Pakistani opener Abdullah Shafique to his third straight duck of the series.

Babar, in unison with young in-form opener Saim Ayub, motored Pakistan past the 100-run mark with both unleashing calculated half-centuries from their ends. Amidst constant rain interruptions, the match was reduced to a 47-overs-a-side affair by the officials.

The Pakistan cricket team, under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, already sealed the three-match ODI series with wins in each of the first two matches. Another win at this stage of the tour will give the ‘Men in Green’ a rare 3-0 sweep on South African soil ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.