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The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign for Babar Azam has had a rather tough run, as he had failed to deliver against England in Super 8 stage. Not only did he cost his team a lot of runs, he also ended up receiving a heavy round of meme content.

Batting first at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pakistan posted 164/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Top scorer for Pakistan was Sahibzada Farhan with 63 runs whereas Babar Azam once again failed to build on his innings. Former Pakistan captain was able to score 25 runs in 24 balls before Jamie Overton bowled him while Babar attempted a big shot.

Babar's Slow Knock Draws Criticism

The innings of Babar Azam was steady but slow. Considering it was the time where Pakistan desperately needed runs in the middle overs and the strike rate of Babar was a very considerable talking point. Questions regarding Babar's form and his intent in this tournament have been raised already and this knock is an add on to all of it.

The dismissal also reflected Babar Azam's performance in this World Cup 2026 so far. The slow nature of his knock led him to play an aggressive shot that he ended up mis-timing and thus missing the ball completely. The meme storm that followed in all social media platforms has been quite a sight to behold with many of the users turning his dismissal video into a trend.

It is worth noting that despite the continuous criticism, his teammates from Pakistan are backing him all the way. Earlier, Pakistan's head coach Mike Hesson explained the role of Babar Azam quite clearly, stated that he was brought back into the side in order to lend stability to the middle order instead of playing fast and loose in the powerplay.

England bowlers put a lot of pressure on

England bowlers put up a disciplined performance throughout the Pakistan innings. Jamie Overton picked up 2 important wickets including that of the Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The spells of Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson , and Adil Rashid also were in a way of restriction for Pakistan.

The target set for England to chase was of 165, but despite the 63 of Farhan, the total for Pakistan didn't look quite defendable on a decent batting surface.

Pressure continues to mount on Babar Azam as the team faces defeat in the tournament if they fail to win their remaining matches. However, it is to be seen how he plays. Until then, the meme storm will go on and the users will troll their captain relentlessly.

This article first appeared on CricketGully and was syndicated with permission.

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