![Pakistan fans last out at Babar Azam for poor show at Lord's [Source: X]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1787926005560_BabarAzamPakistanLords.jpg?type=hq)
Pakistan fans last out at Babar Azam for poor show at Lord's [Source: X]
On Day 2 of the second Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s, captain Babar Azam walked back after scoring just 8 runs, and his cheap dismissal left the fans on the internet fuming.
Responding to England’s total of 290 runs, Pakistan had a shaky start as they lost Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood on single-digit scores. At 16/2, skipper Babar walked out in the middle.
Babar Azam throws away his wicket at Lord’s
However, instead of taking responsibility to rebuild Pakistan’s innings, captain Babar Azam threw his wicket away. On the final ball of the 17th over, Josh Tongue bowled a length ball that moved slightly away from Babar after pitching.
Babar tried to push at the ball with hard hands instead of letting it go. But because the ball moved away, it caught the outside edge of Babar's bat. The edge carried comfortably to third slip, where Jordan Cox moved to his left and completed the catch.
With that, Babar had to walk back to the pavilion after scoring just 8 off 10 balls, thus leaving Pakistan reeling at 30/3. After Babar, Saud Shakeel was also dismissed on 16 runs as the visitors slipped to 63/4.
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Fans troll Babar on social media
Meanwhile, the internet was up in flames post Babar Azam’s cheap dismissal at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Many questioned his merit while a few fans also blamed injury for his poor performance.
"Maturity is realising Babar Azam is nothing but a poor man's Marnus Labuschagne with a very high PR. 😂😂😂" - @TUnlimitedd
"Unlucky, feel sorry for king. Josh tongue shouldn't have bowled such "unplayable" delivery 😔" - @Abdullahvrdl
Notably, Babar sat out of the first Test against England due to a finger injury he sustained during practice. However, Pakistan management claimed that the skipper had recovered.
Hence, he was given the green light to return in the second Test at Lord’s. However, the brief injury layoff clearly impacted his rhythm as he appeared uncomfortable against England’s fiery pace attack.
Is Babar Azam truly fit for the Lord’s Test?
Interestingly, Babar Azam’s poor outing at Lord’s could be related to his overall fitness. Prior to the game, he said he is ‘90%’ fit to play at Lord’s. The captain added that the remaining 10% would improve as he played more cricket during the series.
Pakistan therefore brought him straight back into the playing XI, and he also resumed the captaincy. The interesting part is that he had been doing throwdowns in the nets, but wasn't facing fast bowling immediately before the Test.
That suggests that his finger was still not completely back to normal. So, did Pakistan rush Babar’s recovery, or was it just a routine failure under difficult circumstances? Only time will tell.
For now, Pakistan appears in a deep mess. They are already trailing 0-1 in the three-game series after losing the first game by an innings and 103 runs.
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