Former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali believes that much like the relationship between Virat Kohli and Indian fans, supporters in Pakistan have huge expectations from Babar Azam. Babar showed promise but was dismissed for 37 during the first ODI match between Pakistan and Australia on Monday. During his analysis, Basit said that although Babar did look comfortable during his stay at the crease, the fans in Pakistan will not be happy with 37 and they will always demand more from him.
“Babar Azam looked in good form today. His way of playing was top-class. Unfortunately, he played Adam Zampa off the back foot on a ball that he should have played on the front foot. His foot movement and how hungry he was for runs were good signs.”
“Our people won’t be happy with 37 runs, they want Babar to score 137. Similarly, the Indian fans aren’t satisfied with Virat Kohli’s 70-run knock, they want 170 from him. So, this is the case with a big player that there’s no value if he scores a 50,” Basit Ali said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf admitted that they ended up making mistakes in their opening ODI against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Monday.
Australia continued to exercise dominance over Pakistan by securing its 27th victory in 28 completed matches at home across all formats. The latest edition of their impressive tally was a narrow 2-wicket win with 99 balls to spare.
Despite losing the opening duo, Steven Smith and Josh Inglis eased the nerves in the camp by forging an 85-run partnership. However, Pakistan found its way back into the game with an unexpected surge from Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi.
The duo combined to remove the set batter-pair, which paved the way for an unforeseen comeback. Rauf had enough pace in himself to extract the extra bounce, which was enough to lure out an edge to send Glenn Maxwell back for a golden duck in the 204-run chase.
Australia found themselves down and out without a single run in five balls and down three wickets. This was the position when Pakistan thought of stamping its authority and claiming a stake at victory.
“We were all trying our best, whether in the field or with the ball. We had a plan to bowl short from my end. We had success; we took a few wickets this way,” Rauf said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
(With ANI inputs)
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