Star Pakistani player Babar Azam had a night to forget as he was dismissed for a duck and dropped a sitter during the first T20I against South Africa in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
When Babar returned to the format after almost a year, Babar’s comeback turned out to be disastrous for his home crowd.
Facing just two balls, Babar was undone by Corbin Bosch’s sharp pace in the sixth over of the Pakistani innings.
While trying to hit a long throw offside, it ended up hitting Reeza Hendricks in coverage.
The former captain walked back dejectedly as South African players celebrated a huge early breakthrough.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Babar’s fielding error earlier in the match proved just as costly. In the 17th over of the South African innings, George Linde skied one straight towards long-on, where Babar nestled comfortably under it.
But to everyone’s horror, the ball slipped through his hands and hit the turf. Linde made the most of that reprieve, hitting 36 off 22 balls as South Africa reached 194/9 in their 20 overs.
The Pakistani chase never really got going after Babar’s untimely dismissal. The crowd, which had chanted his name minutes earlier, was stunned by the double setbacks.
Meanwhile, fans on social media didn’t hold back and brutally trolled the 30-year-old for what they called a “nightmare comeback.”
Check out some reactions here:
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