Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had put on a partnership of 82 runs and Babar, who completed his half-century in the 30th over, looked very satisfied now. But in the suffocating atmosphere of Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan's position was still not confident. In the past, Babar would change gears as soon as he scored a half-century and his strike rate would improve slightly. However, on the afternoon of 14 October, he once again resorted to his traditional shot, and was bowled to third man by playing a ball coming through the wickets of Mohammad Siraj. It was a 'soft demise' and Babar's wicket on that occasion started Pakistan's relegation journey in the World Cup which ended with defeat against England last day. After the fall of Babar's wicket in this match, the rest of the batting line-up could only add 36 runs. The next match was against Australia in Bengaluru. Chasing a target of 368 runs, Pakistan had scored 176 runs for the loss of two wickets in the 27th over. Babar himself had hit three fours. Babar's innings has been key whenever Pakistan have chased down targets close to 350 runs over the years. Here he caught Pat Cummins at short mid-wicket off a slightly short ball from Adam Zampa. Babar could have played the same shot over his head, but he was caught at the crucial stage and Pakistan lost the match by 62 runs. In the match against Afghanistan, when Babar had reached 74 runs off 92 balls, he could have finished the innings here, but after doing all the hard work, he was caught at extra cover on an outside ball by Noor Ahmed. The streak of half-centuries and dismissals also continued against South Africa. Having watched Babar Azam's rise closely over the past few years, his consistency of getting out on such occasions was not particularly surprising. Babar usually brings out his best under pressure, but in the last few months, he has been showing the confusion that was seen earlier in the knock-out matches of the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup. However, this confusion and uncertainty in his leadership skills has been visible to us for a long time. Babar Azam made his debut for Pakistan in the year 2016, but after four years, he was given the captaincy due to his consistent batting performance. At that time Misbah-ul-Haq was the chief selector and coach of Pakistan. From the beginning, there was an impression that Misbah-ul-Haq often had to guide Babar in many matters from the dressing room. In the past, Babar has given a stand on the questions asked in this regard. He had said during a press conference that 'Musbah Bhai definitely gives him advice but he makes his own decisions on the field. However, on the afternoon of 14 October, he once again resorted to his traditional shot, and was bowled to third man by playing a ball coming through the wickets of Mohammad Siraj. It was a 'soft demise' and Babar's wicket on that occasion started Pakistan's relegation journey in the World Cup which ended with defeat against England last day. After the fall of Babar's wicket in this match, the rest of the batting line-up could only add 36 runs.
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