‘But it was Babar Azam…’: Wasim Akram on Pakistan skipper’s ‘massive error’ vs SA

Batting first, Pakistan managed to score 270 runs and were all out, however, chasing the target, though the Proteas kept lost wickets to Pakistani side, they had Aiden Markram on their side who scored 91 runs in 93 balls.

When Markram lost his wicket with 21 runs still to get, Pakistan, for the first time, got a hold of the match. Following this, the Proteas lost the wicket of Gerald Coetzee, and were back in the game.

With Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi on the crease and South Africa needed 8 runs in 4 overs with 2 wicket in hand, Babar took the chance and handed over the ball to Wasim, hoping to finish the match in the 47th over, as Lungi Ngidi out caught and bowled by Rauf in the 46th over.

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Knowing the Wasim’s talent, Maharaj and Shamsi somehow managed his over and got three runs. But then, 5 runs were left to be made by the Proteas, with one wicket in hand. Pakistani skipper, instead of bringing leg-spinner Mir back into the attack, gave the ball to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz.

This resulted in Maharaj finishing off the game with a boundary, and winning the match by 1 wicket.

Massive error:

Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram have called this a ‘massive error’ from Babar Azam. 

“There were a couple of mistakes at the end. When a team loses then criticism is natural. The last over was given to Nawaz. I know the whole country will attack Nawaz but at that time Usama Mir had two overs left. Who was bowling better at that moment? Usama Mir. Who had more chances of baffling the tailenders with googlies? Usama. His first three-four overs weren’t good but he got two wickets for you. So Usama should have bowled that over, then Nawaz. Otherwise, the captaincy was fine. he bowled the main bowlers, got wickets. But I didn’t understand why he gave the ball to Nawaz in that over. His confidence was not there. The angle he creates with his release point will always take the ball down the leg side. So that was a massive mistake from our captain,” Hindustan Times quoted him saying on A Sports.

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Updated: 28 Oct 2023, 05:11 PM IST