Kamran Akmal`s Cousin: Twitter trolls Babar Azam for dropping two simple catches

Sri Lanka finished the opening day`s play at 315 for six in 86 overs. Fans weren`t happy with Babar for dropping two important catches.

Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam is regarded as one of the finest cricketers in the world. However, even the best has to go through bad days in the office. During the second Test against Sri Lanka, Pakistan's skipper dropped two simple catches of Niroshan Dickwella and Angelo Matthews. Dickwella is still batting on 42 while Matthews was dismissed by Nauman Ali on 42. Babar dropped Matthews' catch when he was standing at extra cover. The Pakistan cricketer had to run towards the ball but it was not a tough catch however Dickwella's catch came fast on Babar and he failed to collect it cleanly. 

As soon as Babar dropped two important catches on Day 1 of Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2nd Test, he started trending on Twitter as the cricket fans displayed their disappointment. Here are few tweets - 

Meanwhile in the game, Sri Lanka made solid progress on day-one. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Oshada Fernando provided the side a flying start. Fernando, carried his form from the first Test where he scored a fifty in the second innings with an enterprising 50 (70 balls, four fours, three sixes). The right-hander’s dominant innings was brought to an end by an excellent spinning delivery from Mohammad Nawaz that took the outside edge, Mohammad Rizwan took a sharp catch behind the stumps to end the partnership. On the eve of the lunch break, Salman Ali Agha ran out Kusal Mendis when he intercepted a straight drive from Karunaratne in his follow through and deflected it on the stumps catching Mendis millimetres short of the crease at the non-striker’s end. Sri Lanka took lunch at 96 for two.

After lunch, Karunaratne was dismissed for 40 when his attempted cut shot was caught by a diving Naseem Shah in the point region off Yasir Shah. Seasoned middle-order batter Angelo Mathews who is appearing in his 100th Test consolidated his side’s position with a 75-run fourth-wicket stand with the in-form Dinesh Chandimal. Mathews who was dropped by Babar Azam shortly before the tea interval fell to Nauman Ali soon after tea with Rizwan taking another sharp catch. Mathews scored 42 off 106 balls (five fours). Chandimal registered his third consecutive half-century following contributions of 76 and 94 not out in the first Test. The right-hander once again missed out on a century when he skied a catch to Fawad Alam off Nawaz. Chandimal scored 80 off 137 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes, he added 63 for the fifth-wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva.

Naseem dismissed de Silva (33) with a pacy inswinger (fifth ball with the new-ball) that removed the middle-stump, Sri Lanka were 290 for six at this stage. The hosts did not lose any further wicket as play stopped due to bad light with four overs of the 90-over quota remaining.  At stumps, wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella was unbeaten on 42 while debutant Dunith Wellalage was six not out. Pakistan made two changes to their eleven with Fawad replacing Azhar Ali and Nauman coming in for Shaheen Shah Afridi. Sri Lanka included Asitha Fernando and Wellalage in place of Kasun Rajitha and Mahesh Theekshana.

Sri Lanka 315 for 6, 86 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Oshada Fernando 50, Niroshan Dickwella 42 not out; Mohammad Nawaz 2-71)