Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin dubbed Babar Azam’s partnership with vice-captain Salman Ali Agha as the best depiction of “The Tortoise and Rabbit story.” The ex-Pakistan skipper’s 64-run knock off 90 deliveries was polar opposite to Agha’s 42 off 28 balls. Eventually, Azam’s slow-paced knock cost Pakistan the Champions Trophy opener as New Zealand clinched a 60-run win.
Ashwin’s take on Babar-Agha partnership
The partnership between Babar and Agha saw the latter stepping on the gas. Their 58-run partnership came off 59 deliveries, with Azam scoring only 16 runs from 32 deliveries. Agha, on the other hand, went berserk. He slammed 42 runs off 28 deliveries, lacing it with 6 fours and one six. Opener Babar was involved in six partnerships in the game against New Zealand but only managed to score 64 runs from 90 deliveries. His strike rate hovered just above 70.
Latest news
- No Devdutt Padikkal as Gautam Gambhir confirms Sai Sudharsan’s spot in IND vs AFG Test
![No Devdutt Padikkal as Gautam Gambhir confirms Sai Sudharsan's spot in IND vs AFG Test]()
- Predicted India Playing XI vs Afghanistan: Sudharsan-Padikkal battle; Kuldeep Yadav starts with Harsh Dubey?
![Predicted India Playing XI vs Afghanistan: Sudharsan-Padikkal battle; Kuldeep Yadav starts with Harsh Dubey?]()
- 16 wickets tumble at Lord’s as Ollie Robinson and Kyle Jamieson dominate opening day of 1st Test
![]()
Batting first in the contest, the Kiwis were powered to a mammoth 320-run total in the 1st innings. Centurions Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (117) punished the Pakistan bowlers, taking the pacer trio of Shaheen-Naseem-Rauf to the cleaners.
In response, Pakistan played an alarmingly slow-paced innings. In the absence of Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel was sent to open with Babar Azam but he only managed to score 6 runs. Late heroics from Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah couldn’t help Pakistan get past the winning line as they were bowled out for 260 runs.
