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Opening batter Fakhar Zaman has come out in support of Pakistan's premier batter Babar Azam and backed him to find his lost form in the upcoming fixtures amid his dwindling form.
Since returning home from South Africa, Babar's form has fallen off a cliff. After firing three successive fifties in the two Tests in South Africa, Babar lost his mojo since encountering the West Indies in Multan last month. Formats changed, but Babar continued to face scrutiny for his inconsistency. In the first match of the ODI tri-series between Pakistan and New Zealand, Babar opened alongside Fakhar but failed to deliver something meaningful. In Pakistan's 331-run chase, Babar produced a scratchy 10(23) on the benign surface of the scenic Gaddafi Stadium. As Babar's other outing turned into a fiasco, he is still in search of that elusive century since his 151-run knock against Nepal in August 2023. "It happens in cricket, but the class and legacy of Babar is such that you can not say much about one match, and you will see that he will perform in the upcoming matches," said Fakhar at the post-match press conference on Saturday, as quoted from Geo News. It all started for Babar on the turning Multan strip in the first Test. In Pakistan's emphatic 127-run victory, Babar flopped with scores of 8(20) and 5(11). In the second contest of the series, Babar's Achilles heel was exposed by the spin duo Gudkehs Motie and Kevin Sinclair. With just 1(5) in the first innings, Babar showed glimpses of his brilliance but eventually fell on 31(67). "And again, when it's your day, even your edge would dodge the keeper and run away for the boundary, but if it is not your day, then you must have seen how well they took the catch of Tayyab [Tahir]," said the left-handed batter. In Pakistan's pursuit of 331, Fakhar waged a lone war while the rest of his compatriots fell one after another. He blazed his way to 84 from a mere 69 deliveries, laced with seven fours and four towering sixes at a strike rate of 121.74. With Fakhar's dismissal, Pakistan's hopes of chasing down the target dashed away. The experienced southpaw was disappointed with the loss rather than missing out on a century. "I am disappointed with the loss, but I am not worried about not scoring a century," Fakhar said. (ANI)
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