Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is really struggling for runs on Aussie shores. If he had to look back on 2023, it won't make a great reading. Pakistan failed to make it to the semis of the ODI World Cup, failed to qualify for the final of Asia Cup and lost a home Test series. (IND Vs RSA Day 2 Highlights | Scorecard | Day 2 Report | Full Coverage)
On Wednesday, Babar was dismissed for one by skipper Pat Cummins who delivered a peach of a delivery to send back the Pakistan batter at the MCG.
The former Pakistan skipper had arrived at the crease merely an over before, and Cummins, who scalped a wicket before, was amidst a great spell. Cummins bowled a length delivery, and it got the ball to seam inwards. Babar thought he had covered the line of the ball but the delivery nipped in to castle his stumps, end the latter's stay at the crease.
Speaking of that delivery, Cummins called it a 'dream ball'.
"It's a dream ball," Cummins said after the second day's play at the MCG. "It's what you try to bowl most balls, but it's rare that it comes off.
"That wasn't a deliberate ball to seam in. It's fifty-fifty whether it will seam in or out. You try to create a bit of an angle, and if I don't know what it's doing, hopefully the batter doesn't know either."
At the recently held Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction in Dubai, Cummins was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for whopping INR Rs 20.50 Crore.
Speaking of the Test match, Pakistan dismissed Australia for 319 at the MCG. In reply, the visitors were 194/6 at stumps on day 2 of the Boxing Day Test match as they trailed the Aussies by 124 runs. Mohammed Rizwan (29 not out) and Aamer Jamal (2 not out) were at the crease.
Babar has had a poor series with the bat with scores of 21 and 14 in the opening Test of the series at Perth, where his team were defeated by a huge 360-run margin. The Pakistan batter has not been in great form with the bat since the ODI World Cup in October-November, where recorded four fifty-plus scores but amassed 320 runs in nine games.
Pakistan trail 0-1 in the three-match Test series against Australia. The next Test match is scheduled to be held on Jan 3 at the iconic, Sydney Cricket Ground.
