'Babar Azam under fire for burning review, Pakistani fans frustrated by ex-captain's recent struggles'

Babar departed for a quick 8 off just 20 balls in the 14th over, extending his century drought to 23 innings in Test matches. Despite the disappointing dismissal, it was Babar's decision to review the caught-behind call that sparked discussion among online fans. The impressive delivery from Seales angled in from wide of the crease before straightening after pitching, leading to a clear spike on UltraEdge. Unfortunately, Pakistan also lost a review in the process.

These were some of the reactions to the review on X:

Babar broke out of his astounding slump in form in Pakistan's previous Test series against South Africa, scoring a half-century in the second innings of the first match and two half-tons in the second Test.

Before the first of those fifties, Babar had not reached the mark in Test cricket since December 2022, when he scored 161 against New Zealand in Karachi. Babar then failed to surpass the 50-run mark in his next 19 Test innings. His highest score during this period was a 79-ball 41 against Australia in Melbourne in 2023.

Babar had scored 1184 runs in 17 innings in 2022 with four centuries and seven half-centuries at an average of 69.64. Since then, though, his averages have read 22.66 at the end of 2023 and 20.20 in 2024, with just one fifty to show in those two years. Babar was recently dropped from Pakistan's Test squad after scoring just 30 and 5 against England in the first match of the three-Test series. He was then omitted from the squad for the last two games of the series, which Pakistan eventually won 2-1.

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