Tag: Babar Azam

  • Pak Vs. Ind: Umpires come under fire for giving no-ball in last over, fans call it cheating

    Pak Vs. Ind: Umpires come under fire for giving no-ball in last over, fans call it cheating

    After India’s thrilling four-wicket victory against Pakistan in a heart-stopping T20 World Cup match, which took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of 90,000 exuberant fans on Sunday, fans and experts were left perplexed by a few on-field decisions.

    Virat Kohli led a 160-run chase that proved challenging after India were reduced to 31 for 4 with the score at 82 runs without loss.

    The most crucial gear in India’s T20 machine, Hardik Pandya, scored 40 runs off 37 balls in a 113-run partnership. The pair carried the contest into the decisive over as it was close.

    When Pandya holed out off Mohammed Nawaz’s bowling with 16 needed off the final six balls, Dinesh Karthik faced his first delivery and took a single because the crossover rule was not in effect.

    After some discussion, the on-field umpires ruled that Nawaz’s delectable full-toss, which was hit for a six over square leg with 14 needed off three balls, was a no-ball.

    By that point, Nawaz, the inspiration behind Pakistan’s Super 4 success in the Asia Cup, had lost his composure.

    Ravichandran Ashwin hit the most significant boundary of his career after Nawaz bowled a wide and Karthik was stumped by a quick-thinking Mohammed Rizwan.

    The umpire’s decision to grant three byes rather than declare a dead ball after Kohli was bowled on a free hit left the spectators with a bitter taste.

    It should be noted that ICC rules and regulations permit runs on a dismissal off a free hit. Only after it is firmly placed in the bowler’s or wicketkeeper’s hands does the ball officially cease to exist.

    Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg tweeted: “Why was no ball not reviewed, then how can it not be a dead ball when Kohli was bowled on a free hit.”

    Fans criticised it as cheating, while some threw the law book at the umpires. Here are some tweets:

    https://twitter.com/dadu_charger/status/1584157853644120064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1584157853644120064%7Ctwgr%5Ebb3d2eb969eeab1446a962b758d6a65419401606%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.freepressjournal.in%2Fsports%2Find-vs-pak-umpires-come-under-fire-for-giving-no-ball-in-final-over-fans-call-it-cheating

    Additionally, there were tweets stating that commentator Nasser Hussain commented that “Umpires made some weird decision in favour of India today, but maybe we should keep quiet and not upset the ICC and BCCI,” which triggered another controversy on Twitter and angered fans even more.

    After some time, Nasser clarified, saying that he had not said anything like that and that the fake quotes should be deleted.

  • Babar Azam has a game that fits all three formats, but his Test batting stands out: Ian Chappell

    Babar Azam has a game that fits all three formats, but his Test batting stands out: Ian Chappell

    Babar Azam, the all-format skipper of Pakistan, has proved himself as one of the best batters in contemporary cricket with his consistency, spectacular flair, and shot selection.

    Former players now think that Babar is on par with contemporary batting greats because of his comparisons to Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steven Smith, and Joe Root, which have become the talk of the town.

    Ian Chappell, a former Australian cricketer, commended Babar Azam’s finely honed technique, drives, and stroke selection, writing, “Babar is a complete player with his flowing drives and all-around shot range.”

    “To round out the picture, he has a game that fits all three formats, but his Test batting, with an ability to compile centuries, stands out,” he continued.

    It is important to note that the 27-year-old has been in form since assuming the captaincy of the national team, and he has already recently broken multiple batting records of all-time greats across formats.

    The right-hander finished the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE last year having scored 303 runs in six innings, including four half-centuries, and leading the Men in Green to the semi-finals.

  • ‘Babar Badshah is back’: Twitter is in awe of Babar-Rizwan partnership

    ‘Babar Badshah is back’: Twitter is in awe of Babar-Rizwan partnership

    Records tumbled left, right and center as Pakistan on Thursday outclassed England comprehensively to win the second T20 of the series. Pakistani Skipper Babar Azam hit an incredible unbeaten century to storm back into formidable form as Pakistan chased down England’s target of 200 to level the T20 series without losing a single wicket.

    Shaking off his recent poor form, the star batsman managed to score 105 runs off 64 balls, becoming the top player to hit most international centuries as the Pakistan captain. Babar has now also become the first Pakistani to score two centuries in T20 Internationals.

    Pakistan’s opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have become the most successful batting partners as they are the first-ever batting pair in T20Is to amass 1,800 runs as batting partners.

    Shortly, after the victory, Twitter was in all praise for the two.

    https://twitter.com/babarazam100/status/1573008544651149312?s=20&t=31THXIcTMBHOS8WK96ACZQ

    https://twitter.com/hamzabutt61/status/1573007395407757313?s=20&t=31THXIcTMBHOS8WK96ACZQ

  • Babar Azam drops to No 4, Rizwan retains No 1 position on ICC ranking

    According to the most recent International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I batter rankings released on Wednesday (today), Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam fell to fourth place from the number three position but his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan maintained the top spot.

    Babar has dropped to fourth place after his poor performance in Asia Cup and a return of 31 against England in the series opener of their series.
    The 27-year-old managed just 68 runs in six games in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan finished runners-up to Sri Lanka.

    He dropped from third to the fourth spot with 771 rating points.

    However, star batsman Rizwan has retained his number one spot in the rankings with a total of 825 rating points.

  • ‘The middle order is not a cause for concern’: Babar Azam

    ‘The middle order is not a cause for concern’: Babar Azam

    Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam, while talking to the media at Karachi stadium responded to questions about the opening pair and middle order ahead of the home T20I series against England.

    Babar said he was concerned about his performance in Asia Cup 2022 but was content with middle order. The middle order helped team in gaining many crucial victories.

    “The middle order is not a cause for concern, and since it is cricket, your graph will fluctuate up and down. Therefore, our goal is to support those that are underperforming,” said Babar.

    Pakistan opening batters are subjected to criticism because of maintaining slow run rate in powerplay overs. Rizwan was criticised badly for scoring 55 on 49 deliveries in Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka. Babar however has backed his opening pair and said that he was satisfied with their performance.

    The Captain said, “Our opening partnership has been very successful for the last two years. Look, there are different situations and scenarios, what the team requires, and what are the conditions. So, it depends on the planning.”

    “So, in my opinion, the way our opening partnership had been in the last two-year period, helped our team and gave Pakistan many victories. So, the momentum established by our opening pair is later on continued by the middle-order,” he went on to say.

  • ‘Babar hits a cover drive, calculate kinetic energy,’ now a part of Physics syllabus

    ‘Babar hits a cover drive, calculate kinetic energy,’ now a part of Physics syllabus

    Cricket commentators and fans agree that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s cover drives are poetry in motion. Often termed as treat for sore eyes, the graceful shot has thrilled cricket aficionados since Azam made his debut. Now, his absolute best shot have got more recognition and are taught to students in Physics book.

    According to ESPN Cricinfo, “cover drive in cricket is the act of stroking the ball through the covers with well-timed wristwork and conventional movement of the front foot toward the pitch of a delivery aimed at or outside the off stump.”

    A tweet by Shiraz Hassan has been circulating on the internet. It points out that Federal Board has added a question regarding captain’s shot in a Physics book.

    Shiraz wrote, “Babar Azam’s cover drive related question in 9th grade physics syllabus (federal board) (via Reddit).”

    The question says:

    Babar Azam has hit a cover drive by given kinetic energy of 150 J to the ball by his bat. 

    a) At what speed will the ball go the boundary if the mass of the ball is 120g? 

    b) How much kinetic energy footballer must impart to a football of mass 450g to make it move at this speed?

    Twitteratis are now reacting to this tweet

    https://twitter.com/BozoHeadrock/status/1569712527159828481
  • Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Pakistani qaum, yeh cricket hai bhei, racism check mein rakho

    Sports brings pride and recognition to a country and for Pakistan, cricket is one of the most celebrated games. It brings both joy and heartache to millions of Pakistanis. With Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing the final of Asia Cup 2022, we wish both teams luck but we obviously want Pakistan to win! Pakistanis all around the world will be rooting for our boys in green. Cricket and our men in green are a source of continuous pride for the country but what we witnessed from the audience stands in the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was nothing but disappointing at so many levels. The Afghanistan-Pakistan cricket rivalry is fast crossing the acceptable margins, even surpassing the age-old rivalry between India and Pakistan.

    Afghanistan and Pakistan faced each other in an important Asia Cup fixture in the Super Four round, where the stakes were too high. Afghanistan needed a win to keep their chances alive, while Pakistan needed to clinch this win to be in the final. Afghanistan was close to victory but the Pakistani team bounced back at the last minute, stealing the game away. The event witnessed some heated moments between Afghan and Pakistani players, charging up the spectators on both sides. Afghan fans purportedly indulged in verbal abuse and later ended up throwing seats at the Pakistani fans, prompting many observers to say the spirit of the game has been ‘tainted’. Sports fabs across the world sometimes show uncouth behaviour, be it cricket or football or any other game. It is always difficult to see one’s own side lose but it does not mean that fans of the winning team should be subjected to violence.

    While the cricketing rivalry between Afghanistan and Pakistan may be in its infancy, it has got all the ingredients for a heated contest courtesy the political history both countries share. After the disappointing scenes between the fans, there was an immense backlash against the Afghans. But the reaction of many Pakistanis was quite disappointing and downright racist. Pakistanis calling Afghans ‘namak haram’ — racist term often used to address Afghan refugees living in Pakistan — was not just uncalled for but also wrong. No one should have to bear verbal abuses and being called ungrateful or other names. Refugees deserve to be treated with dignity. This is what we also demand from western nations when it comes to Muslim refugees so why display racism against refugees in our own country? Also, to taunt an entire nation and another country because of the shenanigans of a few fans is just wrong. It is a game and one needs to accept both win and defeat with grace.

    We just hope that the teams and supporters watching the Asia Cup final today show resolve and grace. May the best team win.

  • Throwback: Did Rohit Sharma want to become coach of Pakistan’s cricket team?

    Throwback: Did Rohit Sharma want to become coach of Pakistan’s cricket team?

    From wanting to become Pakistan’s cricket team coach to losing against Pakistan, it’s been a long road for Rohit Sharma.

    After Pakistan’s thumping victory against India, an odd video of Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma surfaced on social media.

    In the video, the reporter asked Rohit, “What would you suggest to Pakistani batsmen so that they come out of this crisis?” Pakistan had just been comprehensively defeated in World Cup 2019 by arch rivals India.

    To this, Sharma sarcastically responded by saying, “If I ever become the coach of Pakistan’s team, I will tell them”.

    On September 4, Pakistan won against India by five wickets in a do-or-die match of the Asia Cup 2022. Sharma scored 28 runs. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan picked up two wickets for 31 runs, while Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Nawaz took a wicket each.

    Prior to this, in another India vs Pakistan match which was played on August 28, Sharma got out after scoring only 12 runs.

    In yesterday’s (September 8) match against Afghanistan, Indian cricketer KL Rahul stepped in as captain for the toss. He said that Sharma “wants to take a break”.

    Last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Rohit Sharma as the new One Day International (ODI) captain of the Indian cricket team. He took over from his predecessor, batting maestro, Virat Kohli.

  • Rizwan dethrones Babar, tops ICC ranking T20I ranking

    Rizwan dethrones Babar, tops ICC ranking T20I ranking

    Pakistan batsman Mohammad Rizwan is at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I batsmen ranking list.

    After reigning at the top spot for over 1000 days, Pakistan captain Babar Azam slipped to the number two slot with 794 points. Rizwan now has 815 points.

    Rizwan, who is currently having a stellar run at the Asia Cup 2022, scored 192 runs in the ongoing tournament with 43, 78 and 71 runs against India, Hong Kong and India again respectively.

    Babar Azam has scored 33 runs as yet in the Asia Cup.

    South Africa’s Aiden Markram is at the number 3 spot with 792 rating points while India’s Suryakumar Yadav down one spot to land at number 4 with 775 points.

  • Hong Kong’s Captain takes tips from Babar Azam ahead of match

    Hong Kong’s Captain takes tips from Babar Azam ahead of match

    Ahead of a crucial match in Asia Cup, Hong Kong’s captain took tips from Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared a video in which the two skippers can be seen chatting with each other.

    Hong Kong skipper, Nizakat Khan, who aspires to follow footsteps of Babar Azam is seen asking tips from Babar Azam.

    “Koi tip hame bhi do (give us some tips too),” Khan asked Babar, to which the Pakistani skipper replied: “Kya tips chahiye (what tips do you want)?”

    As per ICC latest ranking table, Babar Azam is at the top of the list in ODI and T201 men’s cricket ranking. He is the fastest batsman to score 2500 runs in T20 international cricket. He took 67 matches and 62 innings to reach this milestone. He also holds the record of scoring most hundreds in a series.

    During the conversation, Pakistan born Hong Kong skipper praised Babar Azam for his batting abilities. In the video, he could also be seen trying out Babar Azam’s bat. Earlier, Nizakat Khan said that it was his dream to play for Pakistan.

    Read more: It was my dream to play for Pakistan: Pakistan-born Hong Kong Captain

    Pakistan will be playing against Hong Kong on September 2 at 7:00 pm. The winning team will qualify for the Super 4. India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka have already made it to Super 4.

    This the first T20I format match between the two teams. Pakistan is confident of securing a place in Super 4.