‘He’s playing for his ranking’ – Fans react to Herschelle Gibbs tweet on Babar Azam’s slow batting vs New Zealand

Former South African batter Herschelle Gibbs was left stunned by Babar Azam’s approach with the bat. The Pakistani skipper had made a quick start but then slowed down against New Zealand on Saturday. Pakistan and New Zealand are playing each other in a key game of the ODI World Cup 2023 in Bengaluru.

New Zealand batting first scored a mammoth 401 runs from their stipulated overs. This after Babar Azam had won the toss and chose to bowl first. Pakistan made one change to the team as Hasan Ali came in for Usama Mir.

The Kiwis welcomed back Kane Williamson after nearly a month out due to injury suffered against Bangladesh in Chennai. New Zealand made three changes as Kane Williamson came in for Will Young, while Ish Sodhi and Mark Chapman came in for Matt Henry and James Neesham.

Babar Azam slows down while chasing a huge score –

Pakistan needed 402 runs to win in a bid to stay alive in the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. A loss on Saturday would knock them out of contention for a semi-final place. Babar Azam came into bat at number three at the fall of Abdullah Shafique’s wicket.

It took the Pakistani skipper three balls to get off the mark. His first boundary came in his 7^th ball as Fakhar Zaman was going hammer and tongs at the other end. This approach left Herschelle Gibbs confused who tweeted “Can someone tell Babar they are chasing 400”

The Pakistanis were 160/1 in the 22^nd over when rains came down to half the play. At that stage, Babar Azam was batting on 47 runs from 51 balls with four boundaries and a six. The strike rate was still under 100 which isn’t what one expects in a huge run chase

Fakhar Zaman was the star with the bat for the men in green as he scored his fourth century of the year against the Kiwis. The left-handed batter also scored the fastest century by a Pakistani in ODI World Cups getting to the mark in just 63 balls.

When the rain came down Fakhar Zaman was not out on 106 off just 69 balls with 7 fours and 9 huge sixes. The Pakistani fans will hope Fakhar Zaman continues in the same vein and keep their tournament hopes alive.

Here’s how the fans reacted –