“Exam tomorrow but can’t miss watching Babar Azam bat”: Crazy Babar Azam fan spotted during NED vs PAK 3rd ODI at Hazelaarweg, Rotterdam

Crazy Babar Azam fan: A loyal fan of the Pakistani captain made his presence felt at Hazelaarweg stadium today.

During the third ODI of Netherlands tour of Pakistan 2022 in Rotterdam, Pakistan captain Babar Azam missed out on an 18th ODI century by nine runs making it his fourth instance of getting out in the nervous nineties in this format.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Azam had to walk out to bat in the second over itself as opening batter Abdullah Shafique (2) lasted for only five deliveries on ODI debut. It was in the fifth when over when Azam pulled Netherlands pacer Bas de Leede for his first boundary of the day. Subsequently, the right-handed batter played a glorious flick for a boundary in de Leede’s next over.

However, it was in the following over bowled by Vivian Kingma that Azam played the shot of the first innings. A fuller delivery on off-stump was elegantly caressed by Azam for an on-drive which also yielded him four runs.

Azam’s strike rate dipped to a large extent as wickets fell at regular intervals after the first powerplay. Azam, who relied on singles and doubles for most part of his innings, hit a couple of sixes in consecutive overs to up the ante but couldn’t continue with the momentum.

As a result, inviting some criticism his way for scoring 91 (125) comprising of seven fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 72.80. With no major contributors from the other end, Pakistan needed their skipper to play till the end but it wasn’t to be as Azam was caught and bowled brilliantly by Netherlands spinner Aryan Dutt in the 43rd over.

Crazy Babar Azam fan spotted during NED vs PAK 3rd ODI

Known for their amusingly innovative placards, a Pakistani fan put on display another such instance at Hazelaarweg today. “Exam tomorrow but can’t miss watching Babar Azam bat,” read the placard of a crazy Azam fan.

Readers must note that Azam’s 22nd ODI half-century was also his 17th at No. 3, 12th batting first, eighth in Europe, seventh as captain, fifth in 2022 and third against and in Netherlands – playing a vital role in Pakistan scoring 206 in 49.4 overs at Hazelaarweg.