The Pakistani captain, Babar Azam, has come under fire from former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir following his team’s defeat to South Africa in Match 26 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, which was played on Friday, October 27, at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Choosing to bat first, South Africa chased down the mark in 47.2 overs and thrillingly won the match by one wicket. Pakistan were swept out for 270 in 46.4 overs.
Gautam Gambhir harshly criticized Babar after Pakistan’s defeat, claiming that the captain of Pakistan hasn’t had any significant career setbacks and that his rankings and records are exaggerated.
“There hasn’t been a noteworthy inning by Babbar Azam. Rankings and records are exaggerated. “The person who wins matches is the true No. 1,” Gambhir stated on Star Sports.
Notably, Babar recorded his third half-century in the tournament against South Africa, scoring 50 (65) runs. In the third match, he scored 50 (58) against India after scoring 74 (92) against Afghanistan in the previous game. The captain of Pakistan has amassed 207 runs from six innings at an average of 34.50 and a below-average strike rate of 79 in the six matches played in the competition thus far. Despite being the top-ranked batter in ODIs right now, the 29-year-old’s performances in the tournament haven’t lived up to his status.
Returning to the field, Pakistan lost their first pair, Abdullah Shafique (9 off 17) and Imam-ul-Haq (12 off 18), cheaply to Marco Jansen, putting their team on 38/2 after 6.3 overs when the match began.
Starring in South Africa’s run chase is Aiden Markram
Shadab Khan (43 off 36) added 84 runs for the sixth wicket off 71 balls to help Pakistan surpass the 220-run mark. Captain Babar (50 off 65) continued to hold one end and scored his third half-century of the tournament, but he once again failed to convert it into a big score and got dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi Saud Shakeel (52 off 52).
After an incredible 91(93) overs, Aiden Markram was removed, leaving South Africa reeling at 250/8. But Keshav Maharaj (7* off 21) and Tabraiz Shamsi (4* off 6) enabled their team to win by one wicket by helping them chase down 271 in 47.2 overs.
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