On X Wednesday, February 20, the former Indian spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin trolled Babar Azam for his slow knock in the first match of the Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand. Babar opened the batting for the Mohammad Rizwan-led team in the chase of 321 runs at the National Stadium, Karachi, on Wednesday, but could only score 64 runs off 90 balls. Six fours and one six were the only highlights of the innings from the World No. 2 batter.
Meanwhile, social media platforms went haywire ridiculing and trolling the former Pakistan captain for his slow batting. In the chase where Pakistan could have really taken off, Babar and his partners—Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman—could score only 22 runs in the first 10 overs and 44 runs in the next 10 overs.
After the dismissal of Pakistan’s top three batsmen, vice-captain Salman Ali Agha did something sensible by attacking from No. 5, contrasting completely to Babar. Commenting on Agha’s and Babar’s innings, Ashwin tweeted, “Babar’s journey to 50 alongside Salman Ali Agha’s knock has to be the best depiction of ‘The Tortoise and Rabbit story.’ #ChampionsTrophy. Fifty, I hope will come soon enough.”
Babar’s journey to 50 coupled with Salman Ali Agha’s batting has to be the best depiction of “ The Tortoise and Rabbit story” . #ChampionsTrophy
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 19, 2025
The 50 I hope will come soon enough🤞
Babar, being the second Pakistani after Inzamam-ul-Haq to score 100 half-centuries in international cricket, was dismissed on the last ball of the 34th over of the run chase by New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner. He had walked back to the pavilion when his team was struggling at 153-6.
In the inaugural Group A match played in Karachi, Khushdil Shah top scored for Pakistan. He faced 49 balls, scoring 69 runs with 10 fours and a six. His innings helped Pakistan reduce New Zealand’s margin of defeat.
Pakistan’s next encounter is with India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. This Group A match will be held in Dubai on Sunday, February 23. Should Pakistan be defeated by India in Dubai, they would be out of the tournament if New Zealand wins against Bangladesh on Monday (February 24) and India beats Bangladesh on Thursday (February 20).
