Has Babar Azam's T20 game suffered because of his habit of stat-padding?

[sweep_shot]

Malan's strike-rate in T20Is is an impressive 135.71.

Malan starts off slowly. He accelerates later on.

He is an accumulator compared to other batters of England.

Babar also has a T20I strike rate of around 127.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Pakistani fans don't deserve a batter that the whole world respects. I guess we'd be better off with opening with Ahmed Shehzad's 11 of 21.

The last time we had an all format batter was Yousaf back in 2010 (on his last legs). He didn't play t20is except for the 2 in that wretched English tour where we had fallen short of squad members.

 

[Saj]

Malan starts off slowly. He accelerates later on.

He is an accumulator compared to other batters of England.

Babar also has a T20I strike rate of around 127.

Malan also averages nearly 39 in T20Is. He's a very good T20I player.

 

[Cric1234]

Babar Azam strike rates in tournaments:

2 World Cups combined : 114

Asia Cup : 107

He’s played plenty of matches in these tournaments opened in every one consecutively and had every chance to show something.

Not every player gets this opportunity other players from other countries would be taken away from the opening position with such strike rates its best for Babar to move from this position or his T20 career won’t last long.

 

[Smudger]

Babar is the best anchor in T20 history and is currently still the best anchor in T20s but expecting your anchor to also specialise in finishing is non sensical. Reality is Babar is limited in his finishing and power hitting, but this is not his role in the team, just like a spinner isn't expected to be a death bowler.

Like many cases of Babar bashing, a failure of the middle order has led to a sub par total and Babar's innings is then labeled as stat paddling but in reality, he played with his complete ability and made all the right choices except while finishing.

Babar constant issue is that when there is no support in terms of batting partners and the team is losing too many wickets too quickly and leaving no batsman remaining. Babar struggles to keep the strike rate high (like most batsman would in this situation) and traditionally, the batsman will take it long and keep their wicket so they can finish at the end. Babar lacks the ability to finish at the end and keeps employing the power hitting method with great failure.

He is never going to be a batsman that muscles the ball for six or have this magical 3rd gear but he is someone that provides a tremendous amount of reliability and stability in a format that is incredibly unreliable. Instead, Babar should try to paddle or lap during the death and his failure to learn or apply these shots are really whats lacking in terms of an anchor role in T20s.

Virat is the best anchor in t20 history.

 

[TheSultan]

I have to laugh about this “best anchor in history” argument. In t20s of all formats! Do you think any fielding captains or teams lose any sleep over “best anchors”?!

Is this satire?

 

[Saj]

I have to laugh about this “best anchor in history” argument. In t20s of all formats! Do you think any fielding captains or teams lose any sleep over “best anchors”?!

Is this satire?

Seems to be a Pakistani invention - the anchor in T20Is.

Absolute joke.

 

[MenInG]

Some criticism by Doull on how slow Babar became as he approached his hundred.

 

[FreakCricket]

This doesnt change anything, goes to show he can play fast but is selfish enough to worry about his avg most of the time.

 

[Rana]

Always playing for stats

Never change Babar

 

[Savak]

Some criticism by Doull on how slow Babar became as he approached his hundred.

Not surprised, too many singles and dot balls in the 90's. Glad Doull called him out for it.

 

[smkk]

Some criticism by Doull on how slow Babar became as he approached his hundred.

Babar was 86 at 49 balls, then score 103 at 60 balls.
So please tell him to elaborate how did he slows down by scoring 17 in 11 balls.

 

[MenInG]

Babar was 86 at 49 balls, then score 103 at 60 balls.
So please tell him to elaborate how did he slows down by scoring 17 in 11 balls.

Like I have said - Doull = gama maja commentary

 

[smkk]

Not surprised, too many singles and dot balls in the 90's. Glad Doull called him out for it.

See, this is the dishonesty of some haters. in those 11 balls that I mentioned in my previous post, there was only a single dot balls by Babar. There were many singles, but that's how he was playing from the very beginning.

 

[Rana]

Babar 115 of 65

Jason Roy 145* off 63

One is the Captain of Pakistan, the other can’t get into England’s first XI

 

[Champ_Pal]

Babar 115 of 65

Jason Roy 145* off 63

One is the Captain of Pakistan, the other can’t get into England’s first XI

You cannot go by just one match as Babar did not know what a winning totAl might have been. Everyone thought 240 is insurmountable. But Roy had other ideas.

 

[Rana]

You cannot go by just one match as Babar did not know what a winning totAl might have been. Everyone thought 240 is insurmountable. But Roy had other ideas.

Let’s say Roy batted first and scored 115 off 65

Would Babar score 145* off 63?

 

[Zaz]

Let’s say Roy batted first and scored 115 off 65

Would Babar score 145* off 63?

No most batters in world wouldnt Just like roy wont end up with 20 plus test ceturies like babar will or avge 60 plus in odis

We all know babar isnt a massive hitter of the ball

Hes a quality stroke player He played a top innings today but got beat by a better one

Im not sure how babar is liable for critislcism despite scoeing a ton at 170 plus strike rate

 

[pakistani pride]

Babar was 86 at 49 balls, then score 103 at 60 balls.
So please tell him to elaborate how did he slows down by scoring 17 in 11 balls.

LOL a set bat on that track cant be scoring 17 on 11 balls. He DID slow down once close to his 100.

 

[Saj]

Overall 115 off 65 was a good effort with the bat.

Criticism could I guess be 94 off 53 balls to 99 off 59 balls. All 5 runs were singles.

 

[Zaz]

LOL a set bat on that track cant be scoring 17 on 11 balls. He DID slow down once close to his 100.

The team scored 240 I think most teams wouldve taken that score at the beginning of the game

We need to praise roy rather than criticise babar for his effort

 

[Savak]

Overall 115 off 65 was a good effort with the bat.

Criticism could I guess be 94 off 53 balls to 99 off 59 balls. All 5 runs were singles.

Lets not kid ourselves. Babar is a selfish stat padder who puts himself ahead of the team, he deliberately avoids taking risks to get his own personal scores.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

The game today wasn’t lost because of Babar’s s/r but rather the runs the bowlers gave away. That Haseebullah drop also proved costly

I take the point on Babar slowing down, and he needs to keep going at a bigger s/r.

I remember Harry Brook’s interview after his century in last years PSL. He got his Century after hitting a 6 when in the 90s. In his interview he said that he didn’t care if he got out, it was important to keep the momentum going.

That’s an approach that’s drummed into the England players. Thus Babar will need to change his attitude to be more effective.

However, I don’t think the attitude change will come from him, but rather a very strong coach who sets the strategy.

I also don’t think he naturally stat lads, but it’s just in his nature to be risk averse. Changing that mindset needs challenge from senior figures like the new coach.

However, it’s also true that Quetta would have chased down 260 on this track, and that’s why PZ needed more from the bowlers.

Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded if Babar even brought himself on to bowl, just to change something.

 

[pakistani pride]

The team scored 240 I think most teams wouldve taken that score at the beginning of the game

We need to praise roy rather than criticise babar for his effort

Yes, any team would ways take 240 in T20 game, but what we are discussing is 17 of 11 here for a well set player. On that track where every 2nd ball was flying to the rope, that is just not good batting.

 

[Rana]

The game today wasn’t lost because of Babar’s s/r but rather the runs the bowlers gave away. That Haseebullah drop also proved costly

I take the point on Babar slowing down, and he needs to keep going at a bigger s/r.

I remember Harry Brook’s interview after his century in last years PSL. He got his Century after hitting a 6 when in the 90s. In his interview he said that he didn’t care if he got out, it was important to keep the momentum going.

That’s an approach that’s drummed into the England players. Thus Babar will need to change his attitude to be more effective.

However, I don’t think the attitude change will come from him, but rather a very strong coach who sets the strategy.

I also don’t think he naturally stat lads, but it’s just in his nature to be risk averse. Changing that mindset needs challenge from senior figures like the new coach.

However, it’s also true that Quetta would have chased down 260 on this track, and that’s why PZ needed more from the bowlers.

Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded if Babar even brought himself on to bowl, just to change something.

Good post

100% agree with this

 

[ArabKnight]

The game today wasn’t lost because of Babar’s s/r but rather the runs the bowlers gave away. That Haseebullah drop also proved costly

I take the point on Babar slowing down, and he needs to keep going at a bigger s/r.

I remember Harry Brook’s interview after his century in last years PSL. He got his Century after hitting a 6 when in the 90s. In his interview he said that he didn’t care if he got out, it was important to keep the momentum going.

That’s an approach that’s drummed into the England players. Thus Babar will need to change his attitude to be more effective.

However, I don’t think the attitude change will come from him, but rather a very strong coach who sets the strategy.

I also don’t think he naturally stat lads, but it’s just in his nature to be risk averse. Changing that mindset needs challenge from senior figures like the new coach.

However, it’s also true that Quetta would have chased down 260 on this track, and that’s why PZ needed more from the bowlers.

Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded if Babar even brought himself on to bowl, just to change something.

Babar can’t be blamed for the lost?

Then why is Imad Wasim blamed for every KK loss? Even though he bats at the highest SR in the team and with the most runs.

 

[Savak]

The game today wasn’t lost because of Babar’s s/r but rather the runs the bowlers gave away. That Haseebullah drop also proved costly

I take the point on Babar slowing down, and he needs to keep going at a bigger s/r.

I remember Harry Brook’s interview after his century in last years PSL. He got his Century after hitting a 6 when in the 90s. In his interview he said that he didn’t care if he got out, it was important to keep the momentum going.

That’s an approach that’s drummed into the England players. Thus Babar will need to change his attitude to be more effective.

However, I don’t think the attitude change will come from him, but rather a very strong coach who sets the strategy.

I also don’t think he naturally stat lads, but it’s just in his nature to be risk averse. Changing that mindset needs challenge from senior figures like the new coach.

However, it’s also true that Quetta would have chased down 260 on this track, and that’s why PZ needed more from the bowlers.

Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded if Babar even brought himself on to bowl, just to change something.

Let's be very clear captains like Dhoni, Morgan, Buttler, Stokes would not have sat cluelessly watching like spectators in the field seeing their bowlers get tonked, they would have been more proactive and try to find a way to stop the flow of runs and get wickets.

You give Babar the best bowlers in the world and he will still find ways to lose games with them.

 

[Rana]

The game today wasn’t lost because of Babar’s s/r but rather the runs the bowlers gave away. That Haseebullah drop also proved costly

I take the point on Babar slowing down, and he needs to keep going at a bigger s/r.

I remember Harry Brook’s interview after his century in last years PSL. He got his Century after hitting a 6 when in the 90s. In his interview he said that he didn’t care if he got out, it was important to keep the momentum going.

That’s an approach that’s drummed into the England players. Thus Babar will need to change his attitude to be more effective.

However, I don’t think the attitude change will come from him, but rather a very strong coach who sets the strategy.

I also don’t think he naturally stat lads, but it’s just in his nature to be risk averse. Changing that mindset needs challenge from senior figures like the new coach.

However, it’s also true that Quetta would have chased down 260 on this track, and that’s why PZ needed more from the bowlers.

Tbh, I wouldn’t have minded if Babar even brought himself on to bowl, just to change something.

On valid criticism of Babar I will add is this,

He totally knew that he owned an upcoming bowler like Aimal Khan. The kid isn’t really equipped to bowl to a high quality batsman. Babar was creaming him all around the park for 4s. If you know this bowler really can’t get you out, you back yourself and take him down for 6s, not 4s

This is what separates a player like Brook from Babar. Once he knows that the bowler isn’t going to challenge him, Brook will target every ball he faces from him for a six. It’s a ruthless mentality that the best T20 batsman have

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Let's be very clear captains like Dhoni, Morgan, Buttler, Stokes would not have sat cluelessly watching like spectators in the field seeing their bowlers get tonked, they would have been more proactive and try to find a way to stop the flow of runs and get wickets.

You give Babar the best bowlers in the world and he will still find ways to lose games with them.

Yes he's also unlucky with tosses etc. He just isn't meant to be captain. We need to realise this before October.

 

[MenInG]

Some criticism by Doull on how slow Babar became as he approached his hundred.

This is what he said (click on speaker icon to unmute)

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="fzHsefF"><a href="https://imgur.com/fzHsefF">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When Babar was on 99 off 58 and defended the first ball of a Naseem Shah over for a dot, Doull questioned whether Babar was only looking for a century, “rather than putting the team first”.

“The last little while, that’s all that has been happening rather than looking for boundaries still, when you’ve got so much firepower to come [Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan and all-rounder Aamer Jamal were to follow].

“Hundreds are great, stats are brilliant, but it still must be team first.”

 

[Rana]

This is what he said (click on speaker icon to unmute)

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100% correct

But I’ll be honest. Doully has it in for Babar and Rizwan.

 

[NishanKonar]

This obsession with personal milestones is a subcontinental thing. Its not just babar's fault. Its part and parcel of desi cricket culture

I remember once Virat Kohli was batting in 90s in ODI and tried to hit 6 and got out. In the commentary box Wasim Akram said that it was irresponsible for Kohli to go for 6 when he was so close to a 100

On the other in Eng / Aus / NZ they dont care about milestones. No wonder Simon doull said what he said. Remember how Mark Taylor as captain declared when he was on 334 instead of going for Lara's record !

 

[MenInG]

100% correct

But I’ll be honest. Doully has it in for Babar and Rizwan.

He wants to be different.

==

However, Harsha Bhogle, who was another guest in the show, opined that Amir had something special in him as compared to his teammates to trouble the strong Indian batting line-up.

“I think Amir should play against India as he has something that other Pakistani bowlers don’t have,” Bhogle asserted on Cricbuzz Live.

Responding to Bhogle’s comment, Doull didn’t miss a chance to take a jibe at Amir’s dark past.

“What? Jail sentence?” Doull replied cheekily.

https://circleofcricket.com/categor...l-takes-a-jibe-at-mohammad-amirs-tainted-past

 

[Rana]

He wants to be different.

==

However, Harsha Bhogle, who was another guest in the show, opined that Amir had something special in him as compared to his teammates to trouble the strong Indian batting line-up.

“I think Amir should play against India as he has something that other Pakistani bowlers don’t have,” Bhogle asserted on Cricbuzz Live.

Responding to Bhogle’s comment, Doull didn’t miss a chance to take a jibe at Amir’s dark past.

“What? Jail sentence?” Doull replied cheekily.

https://circleofcricket.com/categor...l-takes-a-jibe-at-mohammad-amirs-tainted-past

He is more Aussie than he is Kiwi

 

[Devadwal]

Overall 115 off 65 was a good effort with the bat.

Criticism could I guess be 94 off 53 balls to 99 off 59 balls. All 5 runs were singles.

Match was lost due to pathetic bowling but not becouse of Babar slowed down near century .if a team even can't defend 240 then it's purely bowlers fault.

 

[Saj]

Match was lost due to pathetic bowling but not becouse of Babar slowed down near century .if a team even can't defend 240 then it's purely bowlers fault.

The bowling, the captaincy was awful.

But 5 off 6 balls at that stage of the innings was poor.

 

[Rana]

The bowling, the captaincy was awful.

But 5 off 6 balls at that stage of the innings was poor.

It worked in QGs favour. Nawaz is usually asleep on the wheel or as a cricketer in general but maybe, just maybe he was awake to realise Babar is eating up boundary balls for his hundred and not allowing PZ to get a big score?

Or Am I giving Nawaz too much credit?

 

[Zaz]

Even another 20 runs from babar wouldnt have been enough

Peshawar lost the game in the field by a terrible bowling and fielding display

 

[Rana]

Even another 20 runs from babar wouldnt have been enough

Peshawar lost the game in the field by a terrible bowling and fielding display

260 runs wouldn’t be enough for Babar to defend as captain?

 

[Zaz]

260 runs wouldn’t be enough for Babar to defend as captain?

Read the thread title again The thread is about his stat padding and how people think he was batting slowly

The team lost the game in the field not whilst batting because 240 on any pitch is a very good score

 

[shamaan]

Babar didn't loose this match the bowling was poor.

 

[Savak]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

 

[Rana]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

One of those latter 16 balls was a 4

So he basically scored 16 off 15 balls in that period

 

[ElRaja]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

this always happens with pak players, and for some reason pak fans always defend it.

batting 125 with 9 wickets in hand is criminal, but to be honest the response of pak fans on twitter, to call out simon doull is even more embarrassing.

it makes pak hard to support when the average fan would rather see a babar hundred than a team win.

i didnt used to believe it but the last year or so, when babar has been under pressure has shown he puts himself first way too often.

 

[Suleiman]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

He’s desperate. Wants to cling to every 50 and 100 to “defy” his critics. Even in a fun hit and giggle tournament with 50m boundaries.

And even then he got outdone by every batsman on display in the game

If I was big bro Kami or Umar Akmal, I would straighten this fool out to get his act together.

 

[ArabKnight]

He’s desperate. Wants to cling to every 50 and 100 to “defy” his critics. Even in a fun hit and giggle tournament with 50m boundaries.

And even then he got outdone by every batsman on display in the game

If I was big bro Kami or Umar Akmal, I would straighten this fool out to get his act together.

That 20 off 16 balls was the difference.

A wastage of 15-20 extra runs that would’ve forced QG to the last over.

Completely his fault.

 

[Suleiman]

This obsession with personal milestones is a subcontinental thing. Its not just babar's fault. Its part and parcel of desi cricket culture

I remember once Virat Kohli was batting in 90s in ODI and tried to hit 6 and got out. In the commentary box Wasim Akram said that it was irresponsible for Kohli to go for 6 when he was so close to a 100

On the other in Eng / Aus / NZ they dont care about milestones. No wonder Simon doull said what he said. Remember how Mark Taylor as captain declared when he was on 334 instead of going for Lara's record !

Indian batsmen don’t care about milestones either. The example you just mentioned shows exactly that. Kohli couldn’t care less if he got 100 or not. But Wasim did. So it’s Pakistani mentality.

I remember in 2014-2015 some of the new batsmen we tried out would take off their helmet as well for an ODI 50 like Sarfraz lol.

It can be argued that SRT cared about stats. Batsmen who get into “nervous 90s” care about stats. Otherwise why would you be nervous?! But for the most part I don’t think Indians suffer from this.

 

[daytrader]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

In that period PZ scored 51/1 from exactly 5 overs. Not a slow period of play when the team is scoring at a 170 SR.

Babar went from a 32 ball half century to a 60 ball century. If anything, he increased his SR as the innings progressed. Unfair criticism this

 

[Third Man]

In that period PZ scored 51/1 from exactly 5 overs. Not a slow period of play when the team is scoring at a 170 SR.

Babar went from a 32 ball half century to a 60 ball century. If anything, he increased his SR as the innings progressed. Unfair criticism this

On a pitch like that with the batting firepower they had, at that stage, he should've tried to hit every ball or gotten out. Who cares about a century? That's the mentality people are challenging here. 20 off 16 balls at the death in the situation Peshawar were in is very selfish.

 

[daytrader]

On a pitch like that with the batting firepower they had, at that stage, he should've tried to hit every ball or gotten out. Who cares about a century? That's the mentality people are challenging here. 20 off 16 balls at the death in the situation Peshawar were in is very selfish.

It wasn't 20 off 16, it was actually 23 off 16 as he reached his century with a boundary.

He only played 2 dots during this period, one was in the over Saim Ayub got out. On that ball he tried having a go but was beaten by a slower one. The other was a block on 99 off the first ball of the over by Naseem. The next ball he hit a boundary to raise his century, he could've reached there risk free with a single. The point is there was no intentional slow down and people are just trying to put down a top knock just because they don't like Babar

 

[Farabi]

In that period PZ scored 51/1 from exactly 5 overs. Not a slow period of play when the team is scoring at a 170 SR.

Babar went from a 32 ball half century to a 60 ball century. If anything, he increased his SR as the innings progressed. Unfair criticism this

He maintained the SR from 156 for first 50 to 166…

Evidence is there to make the case

 

[daytrader]

He maintained the SR from 156 for first 50 to 166…

Evidence is there to make the case

So it was 51 from 32 balls at a SR of 159
then 52 from 28 balls at a SR of 185

That's a big jump

 

[proud_pakistani]

Babar Azam today:

0-80 runs - 44 balls = 181 SR

80-100 runs - 16 balls = 125 SR

Man literally slowed down intentionally on an absolute road just so he could achieve a personal milestone. Can't ever like this selfish statpadder. Period.

This was mentioned by Simon Doull during the game. Babar should have been trying to hit every ball considering they had so many wickets left. Regardless of that they still got a mammoth score so it was the bowling that let them down.

 

[Mamoon]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

 

[Gullycricket]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

Agree with you. People here want to find fault in anything. Not to forget Roy was dropped twice unlike Bobby

 

[MenInG]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

Problem is that it was Roy and not Babar. That's all there is to it - some of the agendas are so plain to see.

 

[ArabKnight]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands.

He deposited that ball to the boundary. Unfortunately, there was a fielder that fielded well and limited him to the double.

Good shot for him to get back on strike.

 

[Rana]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

Yes but Roy knows he has enough gas left in the tank to get the remaining 60 odd runs that are needed to win the game in the last 5 overs. Roy faced 2 balls less and scored 30 runs more than Babar

Babar is no T20 opener mate

 

[Cric1234]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

You can only look at the match situation and base any analysis on that ultimately Babar played the most balls and had the slowest strike rate in his team.

Roy played 2 balls less and scored 30 more runs the quality of bowling can be talked about but for Quetta Aimal and Hasnain went at 14 and 15 an over any bowler could be scored of easily on such a wicket with smaller boundaries.

In T20 there isn’t anything else to it you either score quicker than your opponents or you don’t Babar hasn’t done that for a long time nobody can say he did well in the Asia Cup or World Cup such a century will give him a longer rope hopefully it won’t mean he can keep underperforming for Pakistan in T20s.

On another ground where 180 is par 115 of 65 balls is a very good innings but in this match where even 240 was tough to defend it wasn’t it all depends on the match situation it’s been a long time since Babar actually scored quicker than his opponents and you would expect better from a batsman once ranked as number 1 in T20 internationals.

 

[corleone]

You can only look at the match situation and base any analysis on that ultimately Babar played the most balls and had the slowest strike rate in his team.

Roy played 2 balls less and scored 30 more runs the quality of bowling can be talked about but for Quetta Aimal and Hasnain went at 14 and 15 an over any bowler could be scored of easily on such a wicket with smaller boundaries.

In T20 there isn’t anything else to it you either score quicker than your opponents or you don’t Babar hasn’t done that for a long time nobody can say he did well in the Asia Cup or World Cup such a century will give him a longer rope hopefully it won’t mean he can keep underperforming for Pakistan in T20s.

On another ground where 180 is par 115 of 65 balls is a very good innings but in this match where even 240 was tough to defend it wasn’t it all depends on the match situation it’s been a long time since Babar actually scored quicker than his opponents and you would expect better from a batsman once ranked as number 1 in T20 internationals.

.

An individual score of 115 off 65 balls and a team total 240 is an excellent score anywhere in the world regardless of the pitch, boundaries, fielding or bowling. Batting first you would take 240 every day of the week.

You can criticise Babar all you like, whether he slowed down to get to 100 or not, but there hasn't been many better T20 innings played by a Pak batter. If we want to nitpick we could say the batters around him (except Ayub) should have batted at a quicker rate to propel the team score to 260-270 but that's just being silly and unrealistic. The game should have been won by PZ if not for a Roy special and poor bowling/captaincy by Babar et al.

 

[Cric1234]

.

An individual score of 115 off 65 balls and a team total 240 is an excellent score anywhere in the world regardless of the pitch, boundaries, fielding or bowling. Batting first you would take 240 every day of the week.

You can criticise Babar all you like, whether he slowed down to get to 100 or not, but there hasn't been many better T20 innings played by a Pak batter. If we want to nitpick we could say the batters around him (except Ayub) should have batted at a quicker rate to propel the team score to 260-270 but that's just being silly and unrealistic. The game should have been won by PZ if not for a Roy special and poor bowling/captaincy by Babar et al.

In T20 you need to outscore your opponent which Babar hasn’t done for a long time other factors come into play but ultimately you either score quicker than your opponent or you don’t Babar is failing to do that 100% of the time now always batting below the par score run rate.

Next match if the par score is 160 Babar will again bat below 8 an over that’s happening all the time now and ultimately means he can’t win you matches as a T20 batsman.

 

[Zaz]

I think its the fickle pakistani fans nature to criticise everything babar does

Heck lets criticise a 60 ball ton too because we have an agenda

Do we have plenty of pakistani batters doing this?

Pakistani fans deserve the likes of umar akmal and asif ali instead who come hit a couple and get out rather than a world class all format bat who the world lauds

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

Agreed, the team which couldn't defend 240, would have failed to defend 260 as well. PZ has horrible bowling lineup which should be blamed, not Babar who scored brilliant hundred to post 240 on the board. Some people just can't keep their agendas aside and give credit where it is due.

 

[Rana]

So all of a sudden PZ have a poor bowling attack…

1. Wahab Riaz (PSL leading wicket taker in history and was bowling well in this tournament)

2. Arshad Iqbal (Best PZ pace bowler setting the tone for them and looking the part for a Pakistan call up)

3. Omarzai (Good Afghan international bowler, improved PZ’s bowling drastically)

4. Mujeeb (one of the best T20 spinners in the world)

5. Aamer Jamal (he is rubbish but every franchise has worse 5th bowlers than he is)

PZ’s bowling attack is more than competitive. Stop throwing them under the bus to protect Babar’s non existent captaincy. Where was Babar throughout the innings? Standing next to Darren Sammy having to tell him what to do?

 

[MenInG]

Jason Roy played a briiliant innings - live with it. Happens in cricket.

 

[Rana]

Jason Roy played a briiliant innings - live with it. Happens in cricket.

If Jason didn’t play it, Guptil would have

They are a different breed of T20 opener. This was predicted in the match thread

The Shaheen Parwaz T20 opener brand is a real thing.

 

[MenInG]

If Jason didn’t play it, Guptil would have

They are a different breed of T20 opener. This was predicted in the match thread

The Shaheen Parwaz T20 opener brand is a real thing.

Bro you know well - Roy was on a different level. Guptill tried and failed.

Alex Hales is the other one - but question is if they can play like that in every game.

 

[Rana]

Bro you know well - Roy was on a different level. Guptill tried and failed.

Alex Hales is the other one - but question is if they can play like that in every game.

No one can play that every game, but the fact that they potentially can is what makes them the most sought after openers in world cricket. Single handed game changers. Absolute fire brand! Pakistan has its fire brand openers but we are more obsessed with consistent 50 off 38 balls

Fakhar Zaman is a fire brand opener
Sharjeel Khan is a fire brand opener
Saim Ayub is on his way
Mohammad Harris is also

This should be your pool of openers

 

[Cric1234]

Bro you know well - Roy was on a different level. Guptill tried and failed.

Alex Hales is the other one - but question is if they can play like that in every game.

Hafeez scored at over 200 strike rate Umar Akmal would have scored a 16 ball 50 had he been batting and not got out it was a very flat pitch.

 

[Rana]

For me, best PSL openers, you genuinely fear these players;

1. James Vince
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Alex Hales
4. Jason Roy
5. Martin Guptil
6. Saim Ayub (now)
7. Colin Munro

Mathew Rosington potentially too but we haven’t seen enough of him

 

[MenInG]

Jason Roy in his presser

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="3nxH4MC"><a href="https://imgur.com/3nxH4MC">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That [Babar's innings] was incredible to watch.

Unfortunately, it was against us.

I mean, it's the sort of stuff I've watched on TV loads of times.

With Babar, the way he plays - this was was his 8th hundred - and to watch it first-hand was extremely special.

He's a beautiful player to watch and he was helped extremely well from the other end with his opening partner, a youngster coming through.

So to watch Babar first hand was very special.

But he could have done with getting a little less to make it a little easier for us.

But it made for an incredible game of cricket and one that I'll remember for the rest of my life for sure.

 

[daytrader]

No one can play that every game, but the fact that they potentially can is what makes them the most sought after openers in world cricket. Single handed game changers. Absolute fire brand! Pakistan has its fire brand openers but we are more obsessed with consistent 50 off 38 balls

Fakhar Zaman is a fire brand opener
Sharjeel Khan is a fire brand opener
Saim Ayub is on his way
Mohammad Harris is also

This should be your pool of openers

The first 2 have been given their chances. Fakhar's performing, he's still there. Sharjeel never has and is rightly out. Both Babar and Rizwan are a huge upgrade over him.

The second 2, will get their chances. Haris is already in the team and Saim will be soon too.

 

[Rana]

Where is Liton Das? He is a top class opener and isn’t playing PSL?

 

[corleone]

In T20 you need to outscore your opponent which Babar hasn’t done for a long time other factors come into play but ultimately you either score quicker than your opponent or you don’t Babar is failing to do that 100% of the time now always batting below the par score run rate.

Next match if the par score is 160 Babar will again bat below 8 an over that’s happening all the time now and ultimately means he can’t win you matches as a T20 batsman.

Babar was setting a total, which amounted to 240. I don't think anyone during the first innings could have said that Babar needs to score quicker, or 240 will be chased down with 2 overs to spare. Would be a different conversation if Babar was chasing, 260-270 (which are absurd numbers for a T20 game).

I've been a critic of him including his lack of power game and statpadding but yesterday he was not responsible, if anything his own captaincy and team let him down.

 

[VForVendetta]

Babar the batter really shouldn't be blamed for last night, he did the best he could possibly do. You don't lose defending 240 everyday, it just doesn't happen often. Babar has a lot of limitations for being a modern batter; he is neither good against spin nor against proper fast bowling, power hitting is out of his reach, he doesn't/can't play arieal strokes & innovation doesn't exactly exist in his arsenal as well. When you take all these into accounts, he really played a fine knock. People need to lower their expectations regarding him,he is just not going to play those gigantic destructive knocks that we have become accustomed with AB,Kohli,Rohit or even Fakhar.
However it's 100% his captaincy which needs to be blamed.I don't remember even one instance where he had a chat with any of his bowlers when Roy & Hafeez were having fun.Either he had a brain fade or simply became cocky after such a huge score thinking he would win anyway. It was quite embarrassing to see Sammy schooling him from boundary lines. I can't picture Smith,Stokes,Kohli or even Rohit taking such lessions in front of entire world. Babar the captain is a bigger problem for PAK cricket than Babar the batter. It's hightime PCB realized it.

 

[proud_pakistani]

Jason Roy received a slow short ball on 98* and he dabbed it for 2 runs to complete his century. If he wasn’t on 98, he would have deposited that harmless delivery into the stands. He played it safe because he was on 98. Was he being selfish?

Absolute nonsense comments in this thread since last night. There was nothing selfish about Babar’s innings yesterday. It was a brilliant hundred, but he was outdone by an even more majestic innings.

241 should be defended on any pitch against any batting lineup. It was a shocking display of bowling by Zalmi and of course Babar’s captaincy should be criticized as well. However, you have to be absolute bonkers to criticize his batting last night.

Theres a difference in being pragmatic for 1 ball to reach a century and being pragmatic for 10-12 deliveries. Thats a lot in the context of the game. However overall I agree Babar still got a 100 at a SR of 170 which is in any context/pitch a brilliant knock.

 

[Cric1234]

Babar the batter really shouldn't be blamed for last night, he did the best he could possibly do. You don't lose defending 240 everyday, it just doesn't happen often. Babar has a lot of limitations for being a modern batter; he is neither good against spin nor against proper fast bowling, power hitting is out of his reach, he doesn't/can't play arieal strokes & innovation doesn't exactly exist in his arsenal as well. When you take all these into accounts, he really played a fine knock. People need to lower their expectations regarding him,he is just not going to play those gigantic destructive knocks that we have become accustomed with AB,Kohli,Rohit or even Fakhar.
However it's 100% his captaincy which needs to be blamed.I don't remember even one instance where he had a chat with any of his bowlers when Roy & Hafeez were having fun.Either he had a brain fade or simply became cocky after such a huge score thinking he would win anyway. It was quite embarrassing to see Sammy schooling him from boundary lines. I can't picture Smith,Stokes,Kohli or even Rohit taking such lessions in front of entire world. Babar the captain is a bigger problem for PAK cricket than Babar the batter. It's hightime PCB realized it.

Well Ahmed Shehzad can’t do this or that aswell does that mean he gets excused for not outscoring his opponents no your either good enough or you aren’t it’s as simple as that.

Being decent in another format does not excuse continuous under performance regarding strike rate in T20s your either good enough to win matches or your not if your not you need to move to another position and let somebody else open.

 

[Pakhs]

Babar can not bat like Roy.. He does not have that kind of game regardless to how many balls he faces he actually usually slow down from a fast start. Runs out of power.

The better quality of attack the less attacking he has to be to score runs. His stats in T20 tournament are not great regardless of SR thats because better bowling attacks gives him even less chances to score freely and away from his natural game so he gets out much more frequently.

 

[Pakhs]

Well Ahmed Shehzad can’t do this or that aswell does that mean he gets excused for not outscoring his opponents no your either good enough or you aren’t it’s as simple as that.

Being decent in another format does not excuse continuous under performance regarding strike rate in T20s your either good enough to win matches or your not if your not you need to move to another position and let somebody else open.

If you are talking about Pakistan we dont have a Roy pretty much anyone who is good enough or performs in PSL do get into Pakistan side.

 

[Zaz]

What did people expect babar to score a 40 ball ton? He isnt that sort of player or has that power game

His game is built on consistentcy of solid starts and striking at roughly 135

And lets be honest roy was lucky with the drops If they were taken we wouldnt be having this conversation