Babar Azam achieves unwanted record during third T20I loss to New Zealand

Former Pakistani captain Babar Azam became the first from Asia to write his name in record books for the wrong reasons. The 29-year-old scored his third half-century in a row in a losing cause on Wednesday in Dunedin.

New Zealand batted first and scored 224 runs thanks to Finn Allen’s century. In response, Babar Azam scored 58 which was the highest for his team. Despite his good showing in recent times, Babar Azam has not been able to finish games.

Shaheen Afridi came out in support of his teammate after the latest loss on Wednesday. The 23-year-old will now hope to reverse the fortunes of his team in the final two games left. New Zealand on the other hand will want to end the series on a high with a 5-0 margin.

Shaheen Afridi throws support behind Babar Azam

On a day when Pakistan’s former Skipper and batter Babar Azam entered the record books, Shaheen Afridi gave him support. 29-year-old Babar Azam became the first Asian batter to score three T20I half-centuries coming in a losing cause.

After the game on Wednesday, Shaheen Afridi spoke to the media and said “He needed someone at the other end to take the innings deeper. If there was another batter at the other end with Babar, we could have finished the game in our favour.”

Till now Babar Azam has scored 181 runs in the series and has been the only batter to put up a fight. The form of the talismanic batter will be key considering the 2024 T20 World Cup later this year.

It is not all doom and gloom for the former Pakistani skipper after the latest loss. Virat Kohli was joined by Babar Azam as the Pakistani batter scored his 8^th fifty against the Kiwis. This is the joint most by a batter against a single opposition in the T20I format.

India’s former skipper Virat Kohli has scored eight half-centuries against Australia in the T20I cricket. India’s veteran batter will be in action yet again on Wednesday in Bengaluru during the final game against Afghanistan.

India’s win on Sunday in Indore saw Kohli score 29 runs in his first T20I game in over 400 days. It is believed that the 35-year-old will be part of the Indian squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.