Babar Azam's knock against India in the Champions Trophy final

[PKDZ]

batted perfectly for the occasion, and saved us a collapse that would have been imminent if that was Hafeez or Malik who came at the crease after that comical run out.

 

[Mamoon]

He is class, his record speaks for itself. Always back class, I told you this about Mohamed Aamir, and the same holds here. This wasn't a great knock, but it was a crucial one, and I expect he will take confidence from this and go on to show his pedigree.

I have written enough hagiographies over his class, but my skepticism resides with his attitude. There have been many class players in history, but not all of them had the stomach for a fight as well. His body-language is poor and he appears disinterested in the field; there is a big difference between him and players like Hasan and Shadab. I would like to see him show the same passion and intensity in his game.

 

[Mamoon]

He played well today during the very period in which Pakistan and other teams have a habit of letting India come back into the game by losing wickets. He ensured that no more wickets fell and as soon as fakhar got out he scored quickly and ended with a sr of 90.

Tactically speaking, his innings ensured that Pakistan bat India out of the game because he stretched Pakistan's innings without losing wickets. He was set to score big , jist mistimed one.

He needs to learn how to finish though.

Overall 6/10 performance.

Yes 6/10 is a fair evaluation of his performance, but I would give his body-language 2/10.

 

[IMMY69]

Barbar was class today.

So glad I stayed away from PP during the match..
Reading the comments of these so-called arm chair critics would have spoiled my day.

 

[member250]

Babar need to develop some muscle to hit big? He looks tiny and after Fakhar Pakistan will find it self more and more in similar position (hopefully) where you can't afford to waste balls and score 8 runs of 20 balls.

Today was pathetic innings, could easily have scored 10 runs more from same amount of balls.

 

[member250]

Even Azhar have better ability to hit big compared to Babar.

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Yes 6/10 is a fair evaluation of his performance, but I would give his body-language 2/10.

He had a decent game with an innings of 40+ at 85 S/R and took a crucial catch at slips. In addition to being a good batsman, he has a safe pair of hands.

Not everyone can be expected wear emotions on their sleeves. It is how he is.

 

[proud_pakistani]

OTT reactions. Even Fakhar was playing slow at one point. The good thing I have noticed about Babar is he is able to take his SR from 70-90 quickly. As soon as Fakhar got out he hit 2 boundaries. He is still young and immature in ways. We need to continue to give him time. He will be good.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Kohli's highest score in a tournament final after 8 games: 43

Babar after one game: 46

Kohli wishes he could be this clutch.
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=100918]Square Drive[/MENTION] [MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION]

 

[Pollack]

Forget Babar. What did you guys tell Hafeez. He wasn't his usual self of tuk tuking.

 

[Xoib]

I have written enough hagiographies over his class, but my skepticism resides with his attitude. There have been many class players in history, but not all of them had the stomach for a fight as well. His body-language is poor and he appears disinterested in the field; there is a big difference between him and players like Hasan and Shadab. I would like to see him show the same passion and intensity in his game.

I think he has a Mo Yo type personality only interested in his batting and just do a job on the field. Luckily looks a very safe slip catcher which we need after Younis departure.

 

[kingusama92]

Babar need to develop some muscle to hit big? He looks tiny and after Fakhar Pakistan will find it self more and more in similar position (hopefully) where you can't afford to waste balls and score 8 runs of 20 balls.

Today was pathetic innings, could easily have scored 10 runs more from same amount of balls.

46 off 52 is hardly "pathetic" in the grand scheme of things.

It was a good knock.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Gonna become Pakistans GOAT ODI batsman

 

[Enigma_]

Gonna become Pakistans GOAT ODI batsman

Yep. Fans are impatient. He's a work in progress.

 

[amvbfm]

It was a perfectly reasonable effort, exactly what was required at the time: an innings to bridge Fakhar's aggression and Hafeez's finishing. After the start we had, there was simply no need for him to go all out at that point. Had he lost his wicket then we might have lost our way. By now I sound like broken record but I will reiterate that in a team, everyone has a role, you cannot win by having 11 Fakhars or 11 Kohli's. Each and every individual brings something different and essential to the team and only teams where every individual plays his assigned role win on a consistent basis. Similarly, not all players in the team will display aggression or take the game to the opposition but it does not mean that they are gutless or incapable of performing in tight situations. I completely disagree with the assessment that Babar is soft or selfish. Also despite being important, body language alone doesn't make you win games, runs do. Otherwise, Shahzad and Wahab would have been the first names on our team sheet.

 

[member250]

46 off 52 is hardly "pathetic" in the grand scheme of things.

It was a good knock.

I'm talking about early on when there wasn't any pressure and Fakhar was demolishing India. He needed to take more singles if not 4's. Could be difference between 300 and 330. Today Hafeez scored out of blue which allowed Pak to score 338. When openers give you this kind of start you can't afford to settle in. Hafeez played perfect innings today.

 

[Square Drive]

Kohli's highest score in a tournament final after 8 games: 43

Babar after one game: 46

Kohli wishes he could be this clutch.
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=100918]Square Drive[/MENTION] [MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION]

...Not to mention Kohli's been dropped too! So technically 9 innings.

Babar remains leagues above Kohli just like Pakistan remains leagues above India.

 

[coy0607]

He made up for it in the end, but at one point when he was something like 7 off 22, he looked awful

I hope he realizes just how much work he needs to do on his batting if he wants to be a top ranked bat. Not every team bowls like the WI

 

[kingusama92]

He made up for it in the end, but at one point when he was something like 7 off 22, he looked awful

I hope he realizes just how much work he needs to do on his batting if he wants to be a top ranked bat. Not every team bowls like the WI

That's a bit unfair.

Averaged 54 in AUS against their fiery pace attack.

 

[London_Lahori]

Agreed. He played an important role today, but didn't stay around to really win the game. I think this has been a crucial knock for his development though. He'll go on to win plenty more games after this.

Regardless of what the slog merchants on PP want, it was a good innings. Fakhar was smashing it to all parts and our RR was above 6, Babar ensured we didn't lose another quick wicket and built a partnership with Fakhar to solidify our position.

As soon as Fakhar got out, Babar stepped up and continued the momentum.

This forum just wants to see 6 or out, you've got a lot of naive posters on here.

 

[Pete Rose]

some lingering questions about him.....

 

[shaz619]

Kohli's highest score in a tournament final after 8 games: 43

Babar after one game: 46

Kohli wishes he could be this clutch.
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=100918]Square Drive[/MENTION] [MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION]

There was too much grass on the pitch

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Yes 6/10 is a fair evaluation of his performance, but I would give his body-language 2/10.

Over-extrapolating a little, no?

I think he's hit a light rough patch. He was starting to find his footing a bit in the last two matches. I think the stage was making him a tad nervous.

Attitude is hard to gauge. Some people have high intensity and some have low, but that doesn't mean they are less engaged. That's just the demeanour.

We will have a long time to watch Babar and I'm sure he will get back on track.

 

[Hamza_]

Grant Flower needs to work on his big hitting and boundary scoring shots. Strike rotation also seems down although he is capable of that.

Playing Hafeez-esque innings these days.

 

[dauntless]

I wasn't much impressed the way he played but still best batsman in the team.He needs to work on his power hitting otherwise he is least of concern in this batting lineup.He is a perfect no.3 batsman who can anchors the innings and set platform for other batsmen to score quickly.

 

[Rayyman]

He put on three partnerships:

72 (61) with Fakhar Zaman, 47 (39) with Shoaib Malik, and 20 (17) with Mohammad Hafeez.

 

[coy0607]

I wasn't much impressed the way he played but still best batsman in the team.He needs to work on his power hitting otherwise he is least of concern in this batting lineup.He is a perfect no.3 batsman who can anchors the innings and set platform for other batsmen to score quickly.

more than power hitting, I think he needs to work on dot balls

if he can avoid the flurry of dot balls he has early in the innings, he is a pretty complete no. 3

 

[kaifmazhar]

Well I think he is very reliable number 3 but one thing he needs to take care of very very soon is his deliberate attempt to block mindlessly in the early part of his innings. That is very irritating and harmful for the team too. Probably he can look up to Root, Williamson and Kohli to improve in this area. These guy rotate well when they just arrive on the crease and play attacking cricket once they are set. That way they are hardly ever under pressure.

 

[Gr33n_Pak]

Huh, some people need a good lesson of cricket here. Again, we are talking about a generational talent over here and people are talking as if they know it all. Really poor from Pakistani fans as they keep criticizing their own talent and find faults when there are not many. Dare I suggest we should bring Misbah back so we can go back to the old ways. We are talking about a batsman who is world class and has a 50 PLUS average in the game with a strike rate above around 90s and people here are suggesting he should change the way he plays. Pretty pathetis to say the least.