New Delhi [India], November 5 (ANI): Former cricketer Basit Ali heaped praise on Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam for his display against Australia in the 1st ODi match and said that the 30-year-old was “top-class” at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After stepping down as Pakistan white-ball skipper, Babar Azam scored 37 runs from 44 balls at a strike rate of 84.09 in the first ODI match against the Aussies on Monday. The former Pakistan skipper’s knock came to an end in the 18th over when Aussie spinner Adam Zampa removed him from the crease.
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Basit Ali said that Babar was in “good form” in the first ODI match in Melbourne. The former cricketer added that Babar’s performance showed that he is hungry for runs.
“Babar Azam looked in good form. His way of playing was top-class. Unfortunately, he played Adam Zampa off the back foot on a ball that he should have played on the front foot. His feet movement and how hungry he was for runs were good signs. It was something that he had been lacking across formats. After many years, I felt Babar Azam did top-class batting,” Basit said.
Recapping the match, after winning the toss Australia decided to bowl first.
Mohammad Rizwan (44 runs from 71 balls, 2 fours and 1 six), Naseem Shah (40 runs from 39 balls, 1 four and 4 sixes) and Babar Azam (37 runs from 44 balls, 4 fours) displayed a stunning and were top run-getters to propel Pakistan to 203 in the first inning.
Mitchell Starc led the Australia bowling attack after he bagged three wickets in his 10-over spell. Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa also picked up two wickets each in their respective spells.
During the run chase, Australia struggled a bit to score runs, however, with their experienced batting lineup they could manage to clinch a win.
Steven Smith (44 runs from 46 balls, 6 fours), and Josh Inglis (49 runs from 42 balls, 4 fours and 3 sixes) helped Australia to add some crucial runs on the scoreboard while chasing the target.
In the end, Pat Cummins (32 runs from 31 balls, 4 fours) and Mitchell Starc (2 runs from 12 balls) stayed unbeaten on the crease to defeat Pakistan by two wickets in the first ODI match in Melbourne. (ANI)
