In the second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique and Saif Ayub opened the innings. Saif scored 58 runs before getting out, while Shafique was dismissed without scoring. Babar Azam, who came in to bat at number four, once again failed to deliver, scoring just 31 runs before getting out. After his dismissal, Babar faced heavy criticism on social media, with one user even calling for his retirement.
Babar faced 77 balls and hit 2 fours during his innings of 31 runs before being trapped LBW by Shakib Al Hasan. Babar has been struggling with poor form for a while now. He didn’t perform well in the previous Test match either. This has led to him being trolled on social media again, with some fans expressing their frustration.
See here also : pakistan-team-changes-naseem-shah-dropped-for-second-test
At the time of writing, Pakistan had scored 193 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their first innings. Shafique was dismissed for a duck, and Saif Ayub scored 58 runs, hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes in his 110-ball innings. Captain Shan Masood also contributed with a half-century, scoring 57 runs off 69 balls, including 2 fours. Saud Shakeel added 16 runs before getting out.
Babar Azam has not managed to score a half-century in his last 15 Test innings. In the first Test against Bangladesh, he was dismissed for a duck and scored just 22 runs in the second innings. Babar also struggled against Australia, scoring 21 and 14 runs in the two innings of the Perth Test in December 2023. In the Melbourne Test, he managed just 1 run in the first innings and 41 in the second, with similar scores in the Sydney Test.