Babar Azam's Test slump continues: Decoding his stats in 2024
Pakistan's cricket star Babar Azam endured yet another disappointing performance during the first Test match against England in Multan. Despite a good batting pitch, Azam could only manage 30 runs from 71 balls with five fours. The underwhelming performance came on a day when his teammates Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood shone, contributing significantly to Pakistan's first-day total of 328/4 after 86 overs. Here's more.
Babar's dismissal and partnership with Shakeel
Babar's dismissal was caused by England's Chris Woakes, who trapped him leg-before-wicket (LBW). Earlier, he had stitched a vital 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Saud Shakeel. Although he challenged the LBW decision with DRS, replays confirmed that the ball had hit the stumps, sending him back and costing Pakistan a review. He was dismissed in the 85th over.
17th consecutive time Babar has been dismissed for below 50
Babar is undergoing a major slump in Test cricket. Since December 2022, he hasn't scored a half-century. His highest score during this time remains 41 against Australia in the Melbourne Test in December 2023. This is the 17th consecutive time Babar has been dismissed for a score below 50. Since his 161-run knock versus New Zealand in December 2022, Babar's scores read: 14, 24, 27, 13, 24, 39, 21, 14, 1, 41, 26, 23, 0, 22, 31, 11 and 30.
His numbers in 2024
Babar is featuring in his 4th match in 2024. Across 7 innings, the dasher has amassed 143 runs with a best score of 31. He averages 20.42. He has clocked one duck this year. Babar has clobbered 16 fours.
Babar has been dismissed by pacers 5 times in 2024
Five of his scores across seven innings have been 20-plus this year. However, he has hit 30-plus runs twice. As per ESPNcricinfo, Babar has amassed 57 runs against spinners across 5 innings this year at an average of 28.50. He has been dismissed twice versus spinners. Meanwhile, he has clobbered 86 runs across 7 innings at a dismal 17.20. Pacers have dismissed Babar five times.
