Pakistan’s key player, Babar Azam, had a lively exchange with Steve Smith while batting in the last innings of the Boxing Day Test against Australia on Friday (December 29) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The interaction occurred before the beginning of the final session of the day following Tea. Babar Azam was taking guard, preparing to face off-spinner Nathan Lyon, and Steve Smith, stationed in the slips, appeared to share a few words with him.
The Pakistani batsman glanced at Steve Smith briefly and proceeded to playfully offer him his bat. In response, Steve Smith humorously declined the offer by gesturing with joined hands toward Babar. You can watch the video here:
https://x.com/criccrazyniks/status/1740627460973265047?s=46
Pakistan lost the Boxing Day Test to Australia by 79 runs, despite resilient innings from Shan Masood, Babar Azam, and Agha Salman
Australia was dismissed for 262 in their second innings on the fourth day, setting a target of 317 for Pakistan. Despite the openers’ failure, Shan Masood played a crucial role with a purposeful innings of 60 runs off 71 balls.
Babar Azam (41) provided valuable support as the pair accumulated 61 runs for the third wicket. However, their partnership was disrupted when Pat Cummins dismissed Masood, providing a crucial breakthrough for the hosts. Subsequently, Josh Hazlewood dismissed Babar, derailing Pakistan’s chase.
Despite Agha Salman’s 50 and Mohammad Rizwan’s 35 attempting to keep Pakistan in the game, their efforts fell short. The determined Australian pacers swiftly dismissed the lower order, securing the match and clinching the series for Australia.
Reflecting on the victory in the post-match presentation, Australia captain Pat Cummins mentioned:
“Was a bit twitchy when they got it down to below 100 and i felt that we were a bit short perhaps. Smudge and Marsh did really well and got us back into the game and gave us something to defend.”
“Even at 4/16, the change room was calm and there is trust and support for each other. It’s been a crazy year with lots of cricket and loads of success and the lads will look back at it as a special one.”
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