Babar Azam's counter-attacking Centurion innings worth its weight in gold

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  • Babar Azam saves the day for Pakistan.

    Batsmen from both sides were thoroughly put to the test by bowlers on day one of the first Test between South Africa and Pakistan at the Centurion.

    On a spicy track at the Centurion with plenty of assistance for pacers, Pakistan posted 181 runs in their first innings after skipper Sarfraz Ahmed elected to bat first. By stumps, the hosts had been reduced to 127-5 in their first innings response.

    It was Babar Azam who was the standout batsman from both sides on Boxing Day with the Pakistan man registering a fluent quick-fire half-century.

    Here, we take a closer look at Babar’s batting display on Wednesday.

    STATISTICS

    RUNS SCORED: 71

    BALLS FACED: 79

    BOUNDARIES: 15

    SIXES: 0

    STRIKE-RATE: 89.87

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Arriving at the crease with Pakistan reeling at 62-4 and soon saw his side slump to 111-8. With Duanne Olivier breathing fire on the Centurion track, Babar broke the shackles with a counter-attacking innings which recused Pakistan from a precarious position.

    The right-hander put on a batting exhibition in what was his first Test innings on South African soil as he slammed his 10th half-century in the format. Batting with the tail for company, Babar helped the tourists cross the 150-run mark with his attacking approach before becoming the penultimate Pakistan batsman to fall after edging a Kagiso Rabada delivery into the hands of Faf du Plessis.

    GOT RIGHT

    Babar’s approach of taking the attack to South Africa’s bowlers paid off handsomely at the Centurion. With survival not an easy task for batsmen on a pitch with considerable aid for seamers, the 24-year-old chose to plunder runs whenever the opportunity presented itself instead of going into his shell.

    His terrific counter-attack against Dale Steyn was a delight to watch in particular with the veteran pacer being made to look ordinary as Babar struck four boundaries in a single over.

    More than his approach, it was Babar’s excellent shielding of the tail that ensured Pakistan posted a challenging first-innings total. His 67-run stand for the ninth wicket alongside Hasan Ali was a testament to that.

    GOT WRONG

    There is not much to be faulted in Babar’s innings given how the rest of the batsmen struggled on the pitch. Batting with the tail for company for the most part of his innings, it was only understandable that the Pakistan batsman primarily dealt in boundaries with little regards for quick singles and rotation of the strike.

    His dismissal to Kagiso Rabada was the one rare bad shot which Babar had played all day. The Pakistan man didn’t need to chase a wider delivery which was moving away from his body and he paid the price for his reckless shot by edging the ball towards the slips where a gleeful Faf Du Plessis made no mistake.

    VERDICT 

    On a pitch where 15 wickets fell in a single day with both sets of batsmen struggling to come to terms, Babar’s innings was worth its weight in gold. Had the batsman been dismissed early, Pakistan could have been looking at a first-innings total well under 120. Instead, his swashbuckling innings has given the tourists a real fighting chance in the Test.

    It was an innings very much in the vein of the quick-fire knocks registered by AB de Villiers in South Africa’s home series against India at the start of the year. De Villiers’ counter-attacking cameos had made the difference on many occasions in that series and Babar’s efforts on Wednesday were not too dissimilar.

    In the end, that 71-run knock could well be the difference between victory and defeat for Pakistan given how the first day unfolded at the Centurion.

    RATING – 9/10

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