Published 16:15 IST, November 5th 2019
WATCH: Pak's Babar Azam frustrated speechless at teammate Asif Ali
Babar Azam was seen venting out his frustration on Asif Ali after he had played a reckless shot to throw away his wicket against Australia at the Manuka Oval.
Babar Azam continued from where he had left off in the1st T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground two days ago as he scored his second consecutive half-century of this series against Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Tuesday. He rescued Pakistan when they were reeling at 29/2 having lost the wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail in quick succession. He tried to take the Men In Green to a formidable score after having won the toss and elected to bat first and just when he had reached his fifty, a direct throw from David Warner sent him back to the dugout. Much before that, Azam had got angry at Asif Ali.
Babar Azam vents out his frustration on Asif Ali
It so happened that while Babar Azam was rebuilding the innings for Pakistan, he was falling short of partners at the other end. Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan and Babar had added 33 runs for the third wicket stand before the former was stumped. Big hitter Asif Ali came out to the middle and the need of the hour for Pakistan was to gain some momentum. However, Asif Ali played a reckless shot that saw him needlessly throw away his wicket in the 12th over when he attempted a slog-sweep off Ashton Agar as the ball went straight into the hands of Pat Cummins at long-on. The top-ranked T20I side were already in trouble at 62/3 when Ali had joined Azam and courtesy of the mistimed slog-sweep, they were reduced to 70/4. Babar Azam was very furious after what he had witnessed and vented out his frustration at Asif Ali in the middle of the crease. The video of this incident was posted by Cricket Australia on their official Twitter handle. Watch the video right here.
Iftikhar Ahmed helps Pakistan post 150/6
When it looked like Babar Azam's wicket would open the floodgates for Australia, Iftikhar Ahmed stood firm at one end as he took the attack to the Australian bowlers. He was involved in a vital 40-run stand for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Imad Wasim. Ahmed played a cameo of a 34-ball unbeaten 62 including five boundaries and three maximums at a strike rate of 182.35 which helped Pakistan get to 150/6 in their 20 overs. For Australia, Ashton Agar was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/23 in his four overs.
Updated 17:01 IST, November 5th 2019