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Babar Azam’s fifty in the second T20I against England - Too slow?

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BreadPakoda

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Seen Rahane make runs like this before. While Babar ended up getting another 50 and consolidated his #1 rank, imo he’s actually let his team down on a belter.

Time to rethink how such t20 knocks should be viewed?
 
Yes a little bit. Blame lies mainly with Iftikhar and Malik though in terms of batting
 
Sorry but the bowlers lost the game not babar

196 shouldve been defended
 
Problem is we have too many similar batsman, Azam’s inning would be fine if we didn’t have Malik and Iftikhar messing up in the middle order.

Haider Ali And Khushdil Shah need to be in the middle order. We also need a big hitting keeper batsman, maybe someone like Zeeshan Ashraf.
 
I think others should have batted faster. Iftikhars knock and Hafeez inability to deal with the Yorkers at the death cost us 20 runs atleast
 
So in a game where one of your batsman scores a 50 and the team were in a position to get 200 or maybe more but end up getting 195; the bloke who scores the fifty should be criticised, to put it politely the IQ of such individuals is not the only thing I'd question
 
Should have gone big and made a 100, so in that context it was fine.

The bigger culprits are Shoaib Malik and Iftikhar Ahmed.
 
Another crazy thread...

We were 20/25 runs short on that wicket and only two players are to blame for this...
Ifti and Malik

Without Babar and his consistent scores we wouldn’t have even got to 150 let alone 190 odd.

Get rid of Malik and Ifti and go from there.
Even Imad is better batsmen then both these combined.
 
He is an opener so that strike rate is fine. After that he had to make a 100 or get out which he did. Pakistan scored less in last 2 overs and bowlers bowled bad
 
It's no Babar's fault....it is fault of inexperience bowlers and lower order of Iftikhar.....8 of 9.....common should have made atleast 14 15..... And malik too...struggled through out.... It's time 2 say bye bye .....enough of good memories....but now it's time for Malik......
 
It wasnt Babar. It was combined effort of Malik and Iftikhar with 22 of 20 balls in later half of the innings that effected the score.

Babar played with SR of 128 and I will take an opener with that much consistency any day of the week. Yes he should be able to push post 50 but, it’s completely wrong to blame him when others couldnt push at the end of the innings.
 
He scored 23 off 21 in the powerplay. Normally he gets more boundaries during that period. After the powerplay he did OK, I think.
 
The problem is not Babar. His job is to be able to bat the entire 20 overs. The problem is having too many similar players.
 
It’s all to do with Malik and the 60 year old Ahmed, two turtles playing cricket that is full of hares!
 
Abdullah719 said:
He scored 23 off 21 in the powerplay. Normally he gets more boundaries during that period. After the powerplay he did OK, I think.
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Crystallized Babars innings and his t20 career. Babars batting is not the reason we lost. It's the selection, captaincy, bowling,
 
Yes, blame the guy who actually made runs, typical. He set a good platform, Malik and Iftikhar sucked the momentum out of the innings. We could've gotten 210-220.
 
Malik and Ifti played poorly and I’m not putting any blame squarely on Babar.

However, to become ruthless in this format, it’s important to have your main batsmen score at a higher SR on such a belter.

Also, to put things into perspective, Hafeez had to play an outstanding knock to help his team reach 190. You won’t see that everyday.
 
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This cannot be the responsibility or job of any one batsman. It's a ridiculous strategy when you have consolidaters like Rizwan and Malik in the middle. Fyi basing a batting strategy on not collapsing will never lead to quality aggressive impactful batting.

Just padding stats imo.
 
Uncharacteristically high number of dots from Babar. 4-5 of them should have been singles, the innings looks a lot different with that. Then he got dismissed on an awful delivery.
 
He did fine. He shouldn't be blamed. It was Malik and Iftikhar who couldn't accelerate after the platform was set.
 
Sure Babar has played better innings before, but I don't think he lost us the match with the bat. And even in the powerplay him and Fakhar had done a good job.

It's Babar"s job to play a long innings and then everyone else around to try and up the scoring rate. But realistically 195 was a decent score. We could have bowled better but Morgan and Co batted brilliantly. They are experts when it comes to chasing
 
PAK fans have to accept one reality that the bowling is over-rated and full of gas, pampered by gullible fans. Guys, average first innings total on that ground is around 160, and PAK posted 195 .... then Poms chased it with an over and five wickets at hand, could have been much wider but for the last few wickets.

Because, bowlers have bowled absolute filth - if PAK can't defend 195 against a depleted English line-up, no point bashing batsmen. Even then, final total was at least 10-12 short because of Ifti - Babar did enough to take it past 200, still won't have been sufficient but that's not Babar's fault.
 
Our bowling never looked like taking wickets, and they would have conceded 220 today aswell.

20-25 runs wouldn't have made a difference. Neither Malik, Ifti nor Babar lost this for us. The blame lies squarely on the bowling.

Amir and Shaheen got absolutely smashed. Iftikhar bowled one over too many, and handed over the momentum to England when his last over cost us 16 runs.
 
Said this in the match thread while he was batting on 35(30) that he's playing a potential match losing innings.

But as he's playing for a team like Pakistan, it's extremely unfair to put the blame on him. Without his innings, Pak may not have reached 160.
 
If his going to play like that then definitely no place for malik & Hafeez in the same line up. Should be:

Fakhar
Sharjeel
Baba
Haris
 
Babar is the perfect anchor we have and need in this team. Sure he did miss a couple loose balls but his batting is still not the reason for our loss. Malik (another supposed anchor Misbah wants to shove down our throats) and the supposed powerhitter Iftikhar batted atrociously today and were the difference btw 196 and potentially 215-220 which would have been perfect. And the bowling bar Shadab was very poor.
 
Everyone who thought he was a bonafide no.1 T20 batsman needs to wake up now because he has played a lot of these low strike rate 40+ knocks even against low ranked sides. It was a match losing knock. Hafeez, Bairstow, Morgan and Malan outshone him by a country mile.

He's a good player but there are at least 10 better T20I batsman in the world. Babar would scrape into my top 15 which is still a respectful achievement but doesn't belong anywhere near no.1.
 
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He did okay, if he tries to play faster then he's not going to last long trying riskier shots, its just not his game. Pak still managed 195 which is a very good total.
 
Every game is different because every pitch is different. Strike rates comparison should be done according to the conditions and other player's strike rate in the match. The pitch was really flat with some grip only for wrist spinners. I think Babar miscalculated the conditions and played really slowly in the Powerplay. He got out when he was trying to make up but the pitch literally required around 150 Strike Rate. But worse followed later. After Babar got out, there was no intent of hitting except by Hafeez. Malik and Iftikhar wasted around 20 balls which cost us around 20 runs which would have been too much for England. The real problem was the lack of intent on display. If Hafeez had not shown the intent and the innings, we would have scrapped to under par 170.
 
I dont think Babar's role is to be ABDV or Rohit Sharma of T20s. So, he did a very good job.

If Pakistan have to beat top T20 teams in their backyard, they will have to find such players. Someone like Saeed Anwar or of that sort would do wonders for Pak allowing Babar to play that 125-135 strike rate anchor role which he is good at.
 
topspin said:
Everyone who thought he was a bonafide no.1 T20 batsman needs to wake up now because he has played a lot of these low strike rate 40+ knocks even against low ranked sides. It was a match losing knock. Hafeez, Bairstow, Morgan and Malan outshone him by a country mile.

He's a good player but there are at least 10 better T20I batsman in the world. Babar would scrape into my top 15 which is still a respectful achievement but doesn't belong anywhere near no.1.
Click to expand...

ICC rankings are a bit flawed for T20 because it considers the value of runs far more than it should in T20s.

Babar Azam at one point was averaging much higher than Virat in T20s but around half of the matches, we have seen that Babar strike rate is now gone to 128 which is good for an anchor role but not of the great T20 player.

A bloke with about same runs but around 45 average and 135 or more strike rate will always be a better T20 player than him.
 
Makes me laugh, some of the best players and pundits around the world consider Babar world class, yet some people in hear love to criticise!
 
Zaz said:
Sorry but the bowlers lost the game not babar

196 shouldve been defended
Click to expand...

I am with brother Zaz on this one.

This was not an impossible score but a very good and mostly a winning total to defend.

Bowling let Pakistan down. England would have chased down 240 here by the looks of it if they needed to. That's how bad the bowling was.
 
If Babar was chasing 200 today he could have smacked 80 off 40. He has shown in past he is capable of striking at that level
 
Ab Fan said:
ICC rankings are a bit flawed for T20 because it considers the value of runs far more than it should in T20s.

Babar Azam at one point was averaging much higher than Virat in T20s but around half of the matches, we have seen that Babar strike rate is now gone to 128 which is good for an anchor role but not of the great T20 player.

A bloke with about same runs but around 45 average and 135 or more strike rate will always be a better T20 player than him.
Click to expand...

That’s almost exactly what his stats are like in recent times. Since the start of 2019, his AVG/SR is 45/137. Before that, it was 54/124.
 
The problem is Babar can’t go up in gears like Kohli and other top LO batters. He wasn’t to blame today but Babar ability to accelerate is an issue.
 
Bowlers were rubbish in test and lost series.

Bowlers were rubbish to not defend 190-200 score today.

Babar has limitations and he played good enough for the game he has.

Looking at batsmen when bowlers can't defend 190+ seems wrong.
 
Hasan123 said:
The problem is Babar can’t go up in gears like Kohli and other top LO batters. He wasn’t to blame today but Babar ability to accelerate is an issue.
Click to expand...

Babar is more like Amla than AB, but still a great asset for Pakistan. Him trying to be AB may be detrimental for Babar.
 
Ab Fan said:
ICC rankings are a bit flawed for T20 because it considers the value of runs far more than it should in T20s.

Babar Azam at one point was averaging much higher than Virat in T20s but around half of the matches, we have seen that Babar strike rate is now gone to 128 which is good for an anchor role but not of the great T20 player.

A bloke with about same runs but around 45 average and 135 or more strike rate will always be a better T20 player than him.
Click to expand...

Abdullah719 said:
That’s almost exactly what his stats are like in recent times. Since the start of 2019, his AVG/SR is 45/137. Before that, it was 54/124.
Click to expand...

Actually neither of it makes a great T20 batsman.

A great T20 batsman is one who wins you the match. As simple as that.

Sometimes you have to just ensure you score the runs even at 110-120 SR and sometimes you have to strike at 200 too. Any player who is not capable of doing both isn't at the top of the mountain as far as I am concerned.
 
Buffet said:
Babar is more like Amla than AB, but still a great asset for Pakistan. Him trying to be AB may be detrimental for Babar.
Click to expand...

Not asking him to be AB, there are players who play like Babar but have an ability to accelerate.
 
Looking at today's innings of 56 off 44 balls on that surface, it was below-par.

A strike-rate of 127.27 was exactly the same as Shoaib Malik's and not acceptable.

He missed out on several four-balls and freebies and that is one area of his game he needs to work on.
 
Hasan123 said:
The problem is Babar can’t go up in gears like Kohli and other top LO batters. He wasn’t to blame today but Babar ability to accelerate is an issue.
Click to expand...

He has a different skillset to them and therefore a different role. He is second to none in exploiting the powerplay and finding every gap on the field when on top form, but as it comes to the end of an innings and power hitting is required he cannot do it. You might see that an issue, but I think that can just be something the team adapts to.

Babar plays the role of a Joe Root in the team, he has the potential to be the sole anchor of the whole team, while also being able to hit unlimited boundaries in the powerplay. So he is the main man in the powerplay, and as the innings progresses he shifts more into a strike rotation role as the players around him take the risk. Players like Hafeez today and to an extent Fakhar, or potentially Haider Ali, Shadab and Khushdil in the future. This should be the makeup of our T20 team.

The problem today was not Babar (though he was slightly off colour), it was Malik and Iftikhar not pressing on and capitalising on the start he made. And of course let's not forget our shambolic bowling performance too.
 
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A touch slow considering the pitch. Strike rates should really by 130+ when making a 50
 
Malik fooled/forced him to give Iftikhar 3rd over, that's where Pakistan lost the game.
He's weak as a captain, needs to make his own decisions & stand by them, yes he can discuss with seniors & all that but after every over he was surrounded by half a dozen players and that's not done
 
Guys please stick to Babar batting - we have separate threads for captaincy issues. Thanks
 
Just shows the ridiculous amount of expectation and pressure on Babar when even a well made quick 50 is considered below par for him. Now compare that with how many times the so called experienced campaigners like Malik and Hafeez failed. Basically we're ok with mediocrity. We find a rare gem and we complain about him. What about the infinite useless mindless rocks around him?
 
Forward Defensive Push said:
Just shows the ridiculous amount of expectation and pressure on Babar when even a well made quick 50 is considered below par for him. Now compare that with how many times the so called experienced campaigners like Malik and Hafeez failed. Basically we're ok with mediocrity. We find a rare gem and we complain about him. What about the infinite useless mindless rocks around him?
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You call it a quick fifty?
 
Babar is in a very delicate phase of his career especially with the T20 captaincy and the two back to back upcoming WC"s due to which there will be more eyeballs and criticism even on the bilateral T20 matches leading to the T20 WC

Babar is going to be the center stage even with Misbah as coach because, not only he has the fan following of the usual PAK supporters but also the whole cricketing world who have acknowledged him to be one of the next modern day greats in batting

In my view the two upcoming T20 WC will define the future of the Babar Azam the batsman, there is going to be alot of eyeballs, criticism on him particularly his batting more than his captaincy because he is not expected to be in a supporting role but he is expected to be in the leading role

This upcoming WC should reveal us all , whether Babar has the temperament to be a great modern day batsman for many years to come.
 
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Geil said:
Babar is in a very delicate phase of his career especially with the T20 captaincy and the two back to back upcoming WC"s due to which there will be more eyeballs and criticism even on the bilateral T20 matches leading to the T20 WC

Babar is going to be the center stage even with Misbah as coach because, not only he has the fan following of the usual PAK supporters but also the whole cricketing world who have acknowledged him to be one of the next modern day greats in batting

In my view the two upcoming T20 WC will define the future of the Babar Azam the batsman, there is going to be alot of eyeballs, criticism on him particularly his batting more than his captaincy because he is not expected to be in a supporting role but he is expected to be in the leading role

This upcoming WC should reveal us all , whether Babar has the temperament to be a great modern day batsman for many years to come.
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Can’t judge hw his career will pan out based on t20’s. It’s gonna be his least best format in the long run.
 
zain7077 said:
Can’t judge hw his career will pan out based on t20’s. It’s gonna be his least best format in the long run.
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yes totally agree with you that is why I said "This upcoming WC should reveal us all , whether Babar has the temperament to be a great modern day batsman for many years to come.

The temperament of a player is known when there will be alot of eyeballs ,criticism and big match event in my view

This T20 WC might be the breakout year for Babar or it might come later tranforming him into to GOAT
 
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No place for anchors in a T20I team as some are suggesting.

It's 20 overs not a 5 day match. If you need an anchor in a T20I then you have big problems.
 
Saj said:
No place for anchors in a T20I team as some are suggesting.

It's 20 overs not a 5 day match. If you need an anchor in a T20I then you have big problems.
Click to expand...

So true.

T20 cricket is all about depth and match winning ability of the squad in total.

Reason why Windies have ruled this format. They have match winners from.top to bottom.

Anchoring isn't a permanent needed, it is a situational need for examplr Marlon Samuels had to play that role against Sri Lanka in 2012 final but that's anot a role he has to play every day and also every day anchors aren't always tournament anchors.
 
In my view Babar needs to play more freely. I think the expectation from him is to be an anchor...but in a T20 game & on a flat pitch...there is no need for an anchor.
 
Saj said:
No place for anchors in a T20I team as some are suggesting.

It's 20 overs not a 5 day match. If you need an anchor in a T20I then you have big problems.
Click to expand...

You could not be more wrong. Babar is not exactly an anchor but he's like Kohli or Williamson. Provides solidity to the line up and can bat for 20 overs and make a match winning 80 while others around him hit out.
 
Pakistan may have suffered a five-wicket loss to England in the 2nd T20I at the Old Trafford in Manchester but their limited-overs skipper Babar Azam etched his name in the record books on Sunday. The right-handed batsman became the joint fastest along with India captain Virat Kohli and Australia limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch to complete 1,500 runs in T20Is.

Babar, who was 29-run short of 1,500, achieved the feat in his 39th innings, the same as Kohli and Finch. Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the T20I format. He has scored 2794 runs in 82 games so far while India vice-captain Rohit Sharma is second in the list with 2773 runs in 108 matches, followed by Kiwi opener Martin Guptill, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik, and Australia’s David Warner.

Babar also went past Kohli to claim the top spot in highest batting averages (minimum 500 runs) in the shortest format of the game. Babar, who scored 56 off 44 balls in a losing cause, currently averages 50.90 in T20Is - the highest among any player.

Previously Virat Kohli held the No. 1 spot with an average of 50.80. However, it must be noted that Kohli has played more than double the number of matches (82) as compared to Babar (40).

Coming back to the 2nd T20I between England and Pakistan, skipper Eoin Morgan belted a blistering half-century as England chased down a record target at Old Trafford to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second Twenty20 international on Sunday.

Pakistan posted 195 for four in their 20 overs on a flat wicket, but the home side completed their victory with five balls to spare and a take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Morgan blasted 66 from 33 balls to secure the win in what is the highest chase in any form of 20-over cricket at Old Trafford.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...t20i-record/story-vCz6WxxvHynXW4d0D2XhgN.html
 
Babar situation reminds me of Sachin's captaincy. Scoring 100 but team losing because of no team work. Pakistan could have scored 220 but frankly 196 should be defended by Pak bowlers.
 
Pak batsman take anchoring consolidating to the extreme, theyr just trying to save there places in the team by taking singles.

As Jason Roy said yesterday see ball hit as hard as you can!!
 
Saj said:
No place for anchors in a T20I team as some are suggesting.

It's 20 overs not a 5 day match. If you need an anchor in a T20I then you have big problems.
Click to expand...

We kind of do, though.

Fakhar's stats in terms of getting out in the powerplay are embarassing. Then just look at the batting to come after Babar. Geriatric "all rounders" who should have retired before Babar even made his debut and after that it's the bowlers.

I'd say Babar can change his approach only after the powerplay if we're in a decent position.
 
I wouldn't read too much into this innings. It was quite clear he wasn't really timing the ball well and finding the gaps. He kept on hitting the fielders. It was just one of those days. On another day he could well have had another 15-20 runs. He just needs to be more ruthless.

The bowlers cost us the match. When Shadab came on and got the two quick wickets, we should have then taken control of the game. Our bowlers bowl way too many four balls and hence lack discipline.

I would stick with Hafeez, Malik and uncle Ifti. They are part of our future in T20s and will play an important role in the next two T20 WCs.
 
Buffet said:
Babar is more like Amla than AB, but still a great asset for Pakistan. Him trying to be AB may be detrimental for Babar.
Click to expand...

Even Virat’s batting is T20 is not ideal of what you expect from top order batsmen . There is no place for anchors in this format , as even there is very little risk of being bowled out .
60/3 in first 6 is a far better start than 35/0 in this format .
 
jusarrived said:
Even Virat’s batting is T20 is not ideal of what you expect from top order batsmen . There is no place for anchors in this format , as even there is very little risk of being bowled out .
60/3 in first 6 is a far better start than 35/0 in this format .
Click to expand...

Agree mostly with this view.

In t-20, a batsman trying to bat full 20 overs is not going to maximize the score. IN fact Indians are guilty of batting too slow in the first 5-7 overs in T-20 and then they accelerate. In that process they let go 15-20 runs.
 
Yes, but only by about 5 or so runs. Iftikhar and Malik were worse, not to mention the bowling which was far below average
 
jusarrived said:
Even Virat’s batting is T20 is not ideal of what you expect from top order batsmen . There is no place for anchors in this format , as even there is very little risk of being bowled out .
60/3 in first 6 is a far better start than 35/0 in this format .
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Yup especially in the powerplay
 
viveks said:
Yup especially in the powerplay
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Anchors look lovely in the first innings - but you then realize how useless they were when the opposition knocks off the runs in no time.
 
jusarrived said:
Even Virat’s batting is T20 is not ideal of what you expect from top order batsmen . There is no place for anchors in this format , as even there is very little risk of being bowled out .
60/3 in first 6 is a far better start than 35/0 in this format .
Click to expand...
Nah, I beg to differ
Babar Azam is on par with Williamson.
Kohli is a freak in t20s he has a long list of iconic and freak knocks.
He has shown n no. Of times that he can perform any role be it the anchor or power hitter.
There is a big difference between him and babar.
 
I think Babar plays whats best for the team, but If you look at Babars innings, they are normally 2/3 sixes short of a great innings. Add those 12/18 runs to his total and you will think of the innings differently.
 
Saj said:
No place for anchors in a T20I team as some are suggesting.

It's 20 overs not a 5 day match. If you need an anchor in a T20I then you have big problems.
Click to expand...

But a weak batting lineup like ours does need some foundation because after Babar we have 3 budday who should not be anywhere near any T20 team. And if Babar fails we would always be short of competitive totals
 
Babar cannot bat explosively like Hafeez or Morgan.

Blaming his knock is digressing from the main issue which is lack of aggression from bowlers and poor bowling strategy. That is the only reason why they lost.

Waqar and Mushtaq must be sacked. They have no excuse this time, they got the best bowlers, they had 2 months to adjust in England, they have very good experiences in England.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Nah, I beg to differ
Babar Azam is on par with Williamson.
Kohli is a freak in t20s he has a long list of iconic and freak knocks.
He has shown n no. Of times that he can perform any role be it the anchor or power hitter.
There is a big difference between him and babar.
Click to expand...

He has some good innings, but the fact is that he approaches T20s like ODIs. Meaning that he tries to "play himself in" and then stay for the whole innings, something India has been doing in ODIs for a while. That's antithetical to the best strategy in T20s, which is to fill your batting lineup with hitters and go for it from ball one, England have proven this. IF VK decides to go for it from ball one, then it would be fine, but if he doesn't and he gets out early or it's not "his day", then it hurts the team
 
I think Babar did alright.

Bowlers failed badly. Amir and Shaheen were disappointing.
 
Babar is an excellent T20 batsman on 150-160 type pitches, but on proper belters, you need to pair him with a couple of explosive power-hitters for his accumulated runs to have any impact.

We of course do not have the capability.
 
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