• Home
  • Who Said What
  • You Are Playing 40 Ball Inning Irfan Pathan Slams Babar Azam For Slow Knock Vs Usa

'You Are Playing 40-Ball Inning...,' Irfan Pathan Slams Babar Azam For Slow Knock Vs USA

Babar Azam scored 43-ball 44 against USA which ended in loss (X)Babar Azam scored 43-ball 44 against USA which ended in loss (X)

Pakistan suffered one of their worst defeats against the USA  in Dallas, as the hosts delivered a historic performance to upset 2022 World Cup finalists. Pakistan made several mistakes on the field, and conceding 7 extra runs in the final over was just one of them.

After winning the toss, USA opted to bowl first. USA's bowlers quickly took control, with Pakistan's top-order batters, except for Babar Azam, failing to perform. Pakistan found themselves at 26-3 before Babar Azam and Shadab Khan began to rebuild the innings.

 However, Babar's innings was notably slow, reminiscent of an ODI pace, as he scored 44 runs off 43 balls, managing only 9 runs in his first 23 deliveries.

Former Indian swing bowler Irfan Pathan criticized Babar Azam's lack of intent, taking to Twitter to attack Babar's slow innings.

"On a fairly decent batting condition as a captain if you are playing 40 ball inning with 100 strike rate. You aren't helping your team cause," Pathan wrote on X.

Babar Azam holds a record for one of the worst powerplay strike rates in T20 World Cups. In the 14 innings he has played during powerplays, he has a strike rate of 86.91 and has not hit a single six.

Harsha Bhogle too attacked Babar for his snail-paced innings. 

"I have seen Babar Azam play many fine innings. This 44 won't be among them. On a decent surface, he looked strangely out of rhythm," Bhogle wrote on X.

With this loss, Babar Azam and Pakistan are under extreme pressure ahead of their crucial game against India. A defeat against India could potentially lead to Pakistan's exit from the World Cup.