Has Babar Azam ever played such a knock under pressure as Virat Kohli played at MCG?: Irfan Pathan

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan took a brutal dig at the No.4 batter Babar Azam for not living up to expectations in pressure situations. Interestingly, Babar could score only five runs off seven balls against India, failing to create an impact.

Notably, since the conclusion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Babar Azam has mustered scores of 10, 14, 0, 13, and 5 against India, racking up a total of 110 runs in six games at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 123.59.

At the same time, Kohli has accumulated a total of 492 runs in 11 matches against Pakistan, with an average of 70.28, including his incredible knock at the MCG during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, where he helped India win from a tough spot.

"And please, stop comparing Babar Azam with Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli is in a different league. Look at his innings against Pakistan in the 2022 World Cup — has Babar ever played such a knock under pressure? Apart from 2021, when dew played a big role, how many times has Babar absorbed pressure and finished games like that?" Irfan said on his YouTube channel.

"With three wickets down, he should have batted till the 15th over, focused on singles and doubles, and played a long innings. Even a strike rate of 120 would have been acceptable given the scoreboard pressure. Instead, he went for a big shot and got out. He doesn’t consistently have the ability to clear boundaries at will, nor to rotate strike freely in the middle overs against quality spin when the ball grips,” he added.

India will next take on the Netherlands in their fourth group stage game on Wednesday, February 18, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad.

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