In the current first T20I, Pakistan’s Babar Azam lost a regulation catch of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, depriving newcomer Abbas Afridi of his maiden international wicket.
The event occurred in the fifth over of the game. With a sluggish full ball on the leg stump, Afridi fooled Williamson.
Babar settled beneath the sky-high ball at long-on because the right-handed batsman was early on the hoick down the ground.
However, the ball broke out of his fingers and dropped near the boundary when he was attempting to grab it above.
Babar Azam was extremely dissatisfied with himself and didn’t appear to be fully recovered until the
15th over when he took a wonderful running catch of Glenn Phillips.
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Iftikhar Ahmed dropped Williamson after Babar Azam
Babar Azam wasn’t the only one who killed Williamson.
Williamson blasted a cut ball off the toe end of his bat high to the right of Iftikhar Ahmed at third man five overs after his drop at long-on.
Stretching his right hand, the Pakistani all-rounder got his fingertips on it. He didn’t catch it cleanly the first time, then juggled it again before dropping it.
The two drops just allowed Williamson to lose.
He achieved his half-century off 40 balls in the 12th over, having been on 9 (12) at the time of the first lost opportunity.
He smashed nine fours in all and was eventually out for 57 (42) on the third ball of the 12th over after mistiming another slower one from Abbas to long-on, which Fakhar Zaman did not mistime this time.
Williamson let Daryl Mitchell go on the bowlers from the other end and get set till he was out. Mitchell’s innings came to an end in the 17th over after a breezy 27-ball 61.
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