Babar Azam equals Imran Khan's duck record before Asia Cup 2023.

jatin

Pakistan launched their preparations for the upcoming Asia Cup on a triumphant note, securing a resounding victory over Afghanistan with a staggering 142-run lead in the inaugural ODI on Tuesday. The Babar Azam-led squad now holds a 1-0 advantage in the three-game series, having dismantled Afghanistan for a mere 59 runs while defending their own 202-run total. Despite the victory, this match became a nightmarish experience for Pakistan's captain Babar Azam, who was dismissed for a duck, marking an unfortunate captaincy record.

In the decision to bat first, Pakistan faced an early setback with the loss of Fakhar Zaman's wicket, followed by Babar Azam's LBW dismissal by Mujeeb Ur Rehman. This marked Babar's fourth duck in the 50-over format and the second as a captain, aligning him with the likes of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Azhar Ali, and Younis Khan. This places the 28-year-old batter at the fourth spot on the list, trailing behind Wasim Akram, who leads with eight duck dismissals. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Moin Khan occupy the second and third positions with four each, while Misbah-ul-Haq holds three.

The match spotlight, however, belonged to the fiery pacer Haris Rauf, who spearheaded a dominant pace attack against Afghanistan. Rauf's extraordinary five-wicket haul, boasting figures of 5-18 in 6.2 overs, propelled Pakistan to a commanding 142-run triumph in Sri Lanka's Hambantota. Afghanistan, struggling against Rauf's onslaught, could only muster a meager 59 runs in 19.2 overs, marking their second-lowest ODI total. Pakistan's innings had earlier concluded at 201 runs in 47.1 overs.
With this victory, Pakistan gains a 1-0 lead in the three-game series, marking the first bilateral encounter between the two nations. The upcoming matches are scheduled to take place in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday, presenting an opportunity for both teams to assert their dominance in the series.

reet

No doubt that Pakistan has completely filled their performance for the upcoming Asia cup on due to this series as we saw Pakistan had thoroughly dominated the Afghanistan team like a destroyer in which harish rauf took a five wickets haul also against his last match with Afghanistan, Babar Azam is one the finest player of the world no doubt with that and a with a few ducks we cannot judge his performances for the upcoming Asia cup also, Pak will definitely win this bilateral series against Afghanistan and also gave a tough competition to all among the teams which he has to face between the upcoming Asia cup.