Babar Azam scored 0 and 22 in Pakistan's defeat by Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.
Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali couldn’t digest that Bangladesh defeated Shan Masood and co. in the first Test at Rawalpindi on August 25, 2024. Bangladesh created history with a maiden Test win over Pakistan, that too by 10 wickets.
Pakistan had batted first after losing the toss and thanks to Mohammad Rizwan’s 171* and Saud Shakeel’s 141, made 448/6d. Then in reply, Mushfiqur Rahim’s 191, Shadman Islam’s 93, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 77 took Bangladesh to 565 runs.
Pakistan trailing by 117 runs, folded for 146 runs with Mehidy Hasan taking 4 wickets and Shakib Al Hasan taking 3 scalps. With only 30 runs to win the Test, Bangladesh openers completed the job, handing their team a historic 10-wicket win.
Babar Azam, who has often been hailed as one of the top batsmen in the world, failed to impress in the first Test, where Bangladesh secured a historic win. Babar made 0 and 22 in the two innings, despite getting a life in the second innings.
In a scathing critique on his YouTube channel, Basit expressed his disappointment: “I'm feeling very disappointed that it seems as if you’ve forgotten how to bat, or have the Bangladesh bowlers cast some magic on you, or is it the pitch that’s done the trick? Aap log toh bade bade Bradman ho na (You all are supposed to be big Bradmans, right?) ICC No. 1 Babar Azam. He got a life when a catch was dropped, but then Nahid Rana chased Babar down with his pace. When he got out, it looked like he didn’t even expect the ball to come back like that."
The setback raises serious worries for Pakistan, particularly given their recent troubles in Test cricket at home. As they prepare for the second and final Test of the series, starting on August 30, the burden is on Babar and the Pakistan team to recover and prevent an embarrassing series defeat.