Cricket

'Give me freedom give me flat track' - Fans troll Babar Azam for disappointing first innings knock against Sri Lanka in 1st Test 

Babar Azam got dismissed cheaply in the first innings of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Monday.

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Daniel S
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Babar Azam

Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)

Pakistan captain Babar Azam had a poor start to the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, as he was bowled cheaply in the first innings of the opening Test in Galle on Monday, July 17. His dismissal of 13 off 16 deliveries came at a time when Pakistan was reeling at 73/4, leaving his fans frustrated and inviting trolls and criticism on social media.

Winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat first and posted an impressive total of 312 on the board. It was Angelo Mathews' half-century and Dhananjaya de Silva's brilliant hundred that propelled the hosts to cross the 300-run mark. Pakistan pacers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and spinner Abrar Ahmed shone with the ball, picking up three wickets each.

Pakistan, in reply, got off to a disastrous start as they lost opener Imam-ul-Haq in the second over for just 1 run. Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood stayed a while at the crease and tried to form a partnership, but Prabhat Jayasuriya broke the partnership by dismissing the opener in the 11th over. Ramesh Mendis trapped Masood in front of the stumps in the following over to make the score 67/3.

Prabhat Jayasuriya dismisses Babar Azam for the fourth time

Pakistan fans had high hopes for their star batter Babar, but the right-hander's stay ended up in disappointment only to cause more trouble for his team. Babar opened his account with a boundary against Jayasuriya but the Lankan spinner had the last laugh as he got the wicket of the rival captain. A length ball slid in on the middle, Babar looked to hit it through the on-side but got an inside edge onto the pad which was caught by wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama after the ball popped up.

It was the left-arm spinner's fourth dismissal of Babar in his Test career, having removed him three times during Pakistan's tour to Sri Lanka last year. Meanwhile, after the Lahore-born batter's wicket, Jayasurya added one more scalp to his account by sending Sarfaraz Ahmed back to the pavilion. However, Agha Salman and Saud Shakeel shouldered the scoring responsibility as they have formed a partnership, with both players remaining unbeaten with half-centuries in the third session.

Here's how fans reacted to Babar Azam's disappointing knock: 

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