Babar Azam, former Pakistan Test captain, managed a two-ball duck in the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh. This match is being played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. Mushfiqur Rahim and Shadman Islam were members of Bangladesh’s playing XI. They have chosen three quick bowlers and two spin-bowling all-rounders, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The three quicks are Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, and Hasan Mahmud.
Pakistan announced their XI two days before the match, and they chose four seamers: Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Ali, and Khurram Shahzad.
However, Pakistan’s start was shaky, with Hasan Mahmud removing Abdullah Shafique for two runs. Shan Masood followed soon for six runs after a controversial decision.
But the biggest blow came when Babar Azam, considered to be the best batter Pakistan has produced, was out caught behind by Litton Das off the bowling of Shoriful Islam for a duck on the second ball he faced.
Reacting to Babar Azam’s dismissal, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali pointed out that it was similar to India’s great Virat Kohli grabbing headlines for his back-to-back failures in India’s recently concluded three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Basit Ali on Babar Azam’s failure
“The whole world talks about it when Babar Azam gets out. There are just two such players – Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. When they score a hundred, they get a lot of praise, but when they get out early, they get slammed heavily. We saw it happen when Virat Kohli got out in all three matches of the Sri Lanka series,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube Channel.
Virat Kohli had scores of 24, 14, and 20 in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka India lost 2-0.
Shan Masood was not out: Basit Ali
The hosts got off to a poor start, losing three early wickets. Skipper Shan Masood too struggled to make an impression, falling behind after scoring only six runs.
Masood was first given not out by the on-field umpire, but the third umpire overturned the judgment when Bangladesh chose DRS. The southpaw was noticeably angry by the call, as replays indicated that the spike on Ultraedge occurred after the ball had passed the bat.
Basit responded to the contentious dismissal by saying Masood was not out because the ball had brushed the pad. He thought the Pakistani captain made a significant error by immediately looking towards the keeper after being beaten.
“Shan Masood was not out. No matter what people say, the ball missed the bat. It hit the pad. Shan Masood did a stupid thing of immediately looking behind after missing the ball. He gave a chance to the third umpire,” he added.
Shan Masood was seen unleashing his rage in the locker room after being caught behind by the third umpire. In a video shared on social media, he can be seen pointing to a television screen, apparently indicating that the ball did not contact the bat.
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