The Stallions won the toss and opted to bat first against the Dolphins in the seventh match of the Champions One Day Cup, a Pakistan domestic tournament involving five teams picked by national selectors. After a breezy 76-run stand between Shan Masood and Yasir Khan at the top of the order, Babar Azam took over the mantle to score his second half-century in three games before eventually converting it into a ton, remaining unbeaten on 104 off 100 balls. Unsurprisingly, the crowd at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad was behind the former Pakistan skipper’s back the entire time, showering him with chants of ‘Babar, Babar’. It was only a matter of time before it irked the bowling team.
Sarfaraz Khan, keeping the wickets for the Dolphins, was waiting for the bowler to return to his mark with Babar at the other end. Frustrated by the constant echoes of his counterpart’s name, the veteran ensured his young spinner was not discouraged with an authoritative statement, ‘Inko Babar, Babar karne do, hum Babar ko 40 over khila denge, baki sare out ho jayenge (let them keep chanting Babar, Babar. We will make Babar play for 40 overs, the rest of the team will get out)’. As it turned out, Babar ended up having ample support during his knock as the team ended up with a commanding total of 271/7.
The moment certainly made for much amusement on Twitter.
Ayein?
Hahaha!
LOL! Hilarious!
what did you eat?
Need some cofidence in life like this!
Me too!
Yeah!
