Pakistan captain Babar Azam was in sublime touch on Saturday, the opening day of the third and final Test of the series against England in Karachi, as he scored his 25th Test half-century in what was his 100th international match as the skipper of the national side. However, an unfortunate dismissal denied him a century and left him absolutely livid at his teammate Agha Salman for running him out.
It happened in the final ball of the 59th over. Salman tucked the fuller delivery from debutant Rehan Ahmed towards the right of mid-wicket. The batter took off for a single, then immediately stopped and then once again went for the run. Babar, looking at Salman stop, halted him run as well before taking off again.
Harry Brook, on the other hand, sprinted towards the ball, collected it and fired down a low catch. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes made a timely dive and in a bid broke one of the bails without the ball in hand, but eventually got the other before Babar completed the run.
Babar immediately looked at Salman and looked absolutely furious at him. Umpire Marius Erasmus asked for a review and Babar was seen inches outside the crease at the time of the second bail getting dislodged. As the Pakistan captain made his way back to the pavilion he was spotted hurling a mouthful at his teammate for gifting the wicket and denying him the shot at a second century in the series.
{{/usCountry}}Babar immediately looked at Salman and looked absolutely furious at him. Umpire Marius Erasmus asked for a review and Babar was seen inches outside the crease at the time of the second bail getting dislodged. As the Pakistan captain made his way back to the pavilion he was spotted hurling a mouthful at his teammate for gifting the wicket and denying him the shot at a second century in the series.
{{/usCountry}}Salam later went on to complete his half-century as Pakistan were folded for 304 runs. The hosts in reply got an early wicket before the close of Day 1 as Abrar Ahmed dismissed Zak Crawley for a golden duck. England finished the opening day at 7 for 1, trailing by 287 runs.
Pakistan are aiming for a consolation win in Karachi after having lost the series following defeats in Rawalpindi and Multan.