Delhi: Babar Azam has made a spectacular comeback in red-ball cricket after being left out of the Test squad at home against England last year. He has performed well with the bat for Pakistan on the tour of South Africa. He has scored three consecutive half-centuries in the two-Test series. However, at the end of the third day at Newlands, Cape Town, he could not complete his century and returned to the pavilion after scoring 81 runs.
Babar’s disappointing performance
Babar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo after the third day, “I am very disappointed with both the innings. I started well but couldn’t finish well. If you set up, you should score big. This is why I am a little worried. There were only 15 minutes left in the match.”
Great opening partnership
After being all out for 194, Babar opened with captain Shan Masood as Sam Ayub was injured. Both of them made a partnership of 205 runs in Pakistan’s second innings, which was the biggest opening partnership in the history of Test cricket. This partnership was broken in the 47th over, when Babar edged the ball while playing a cover drive, and it went straight into the hands of slip fielder David Bedingham.
Babar Azam in the Test series in South Africa:
– 4(11), 50(85), 58(127) & 81(124). pic.twitter.com/cvk7zBNrgg
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 5, 2025
South Africa’s pitch and spin challenge
Babar said that the pitch is good for batting, but there are some rough spots which left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj can take advantage of. He said, “The conditions here are different from Centurion. When you come to South Africa, you don’t expect the pitch to be so flat. It was a bit challenging with the new ball, but once you got settled and built a partnership, it became easier to play. But there are some rough spots on the pitch, you saw Maharaj get turn and bounce in some overs against Shan. So spinner can be a bit challenging. But if you are set against fast bowlers, then you can play with your normal style.”
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