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Pakistan have gone to Netherlands for a three-match ODI series. The Pakistani team clinched a win in the first ODI. Even though the Pakistani team put a total of 314 runs on the board in the first game, there were still a few questions that put skipper Babar Azam in a spot of bother.
The Pakistani opener Farkhar Zaman scored a hundred, the captain joined him after the early wicket of Imam-ul-Haq and put a partnership of 168 runs for the second wicket.
Babar played a useful knock of 74 with a healthy strike rate of 87.06, but still had to face the backlash of the former captain Shahid Afridi.
“Ball keeps swinging there. Babar and Fakhar played an outstanding innings. But I rate Babar highly, so I think it was a good opportunity for him to score a hundred. There was no need to play a shot like that. Fakhar was playing with him. I liked his innings too,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.
On being asked whether Babar would be upset with his knock, he said, “I don't think Babar needs to take pressure over these things. He doesn't need to bother himself with what other people are saying. His performance speaks for himself. And he is playing brilliantly. I just said that when Fakhar is playing like that, you don't need to take chances. I only wanted him to score a hundred."
The expectations from the young captain have risen through the years as Babar has shown signs of greatness. Questions have been asked of the 27-year-old related to the way he paces his innings. After Pakistan’s loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final, he was criticised for his strike rate as well.
Against Netherlands, Babar tried to accelerate his innings by playing a lofted shot on a length delivery as he eyed the long off region to be empty. The Dutch bowler Longa van Beek tempted him with a free chance to clear the mid off player and score a boundary. Babar went for it but could not time it fully and ended up giving an easy catch to mid off fielder Tom Cooper.
Babar fell short of a hundred which prevented Pakistan from posting a gigantic total against Netherlands. In the end, it was Shadab Khan and Agha Salman’s partnership that helped Pakistan cross the 300-run mark. Even then, Pakistan bowlers survived a scare as they managed to win the series opener by just 16 runs.
