Watch: Pakistan captain Babar Azam was dismissed after a late review by South Africa overturned the on-field decision against him at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai today (October 27).
Pakistan elected to bat first after winning the toss in Chennai but had a poor start. Openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafiq were dismissed in his first seven overs as Pakistan lost their first two wickets for 38.
Senior professionals Babar and Mohammad Rizwan then combined to add 48 runs for the third wicket. Rizwan looked particularly aggressive, hitting 31 of his 27 goals, scoring four and six before being canceled out by a rebound from Gerard Coetzee.
Iftikhar Ahmed, who was promoted to No. 5, fell from 31 seconds to 21 seconds, going in and out repeatedly. At 129-4, Pakistan needed the pair of Babar and Saud Shakeel to form a big partnership. However, Babar died under strange circumstances shortly after turning 50 years old.
Tabraiz Shamsi bowled a long ball over the wicket on middle and leg, forcing Babar to turn. Commentator Mark Nicholas said he tried to pass the ball around but appeared to miss the ball as the South Africans made a “half-appeal” of being caught up. The South African players showed little interest, so the on-field umpire declared them “not out”.
Surprisingly, South Africa applied for review after careful consideration, but it appears that they were not confident in their appeal from the beginning. In the end, it turned out to be a masterstroke, with replays suggesting the ball bounced through Babar’s glove onto Quinton de Kock, forcing the referee to overturn the decision and send him off. I no longer get it.
Babar failed on exactly 50 off 65 balls and Pakistan lost yet another 141-5.
Watch Babar Azam being given out after a late review by South Africa:
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