web (13)

Picture Credit: Twitter/ @ICC

Pakistan came into the second Test against Zimbabwe with an aim to seal the series after registering a huge win in the previous contest. Babar Azam won the toss at Harare Sports Club and opted to bat first. After a rather cautious start by Pakistan's openers, Richard Ngarava dismissed Imran Butt who scored 2 runs off 20 balls. With the score reading 12/1 in 7.3 overs, experienced campaigner Azhar Ali came out to bat. The 36-year-old stuck around and stabilized the Pakistan innings, alongside Abid Ali. The duo added 60 runs in the next 129 deliveries as the score read 72/1 in 29 overs at lunch.

Although Pakistan got a solid platform, the fans were not happy with such a defensive approach from both the batsmen. While Azhar Ali (31* off 66) batted at a strike rate of 46.96, Abid Ali (34* off 88) scored runs at a strike rate of 38.63. Twitterati was not pleased with the duo as they trolled them for scoring runs so slowly, even against a not-so-strong side like Zimbabwe.

While some pointed out that a run rate of 2.48 is unacceptable in modern-day Test cricket, the others termed their batting as 'embarrassing'.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Pak's batting:

Azhar and Abid did try to show some positive intent post-lunch as they took Pakistan's score to 130/1 in 44 overs. With both the batsmen having reached their fifties and skipper Babar Azam to follow, the fans could expect some quick runs being scored in the second half of Day 1.