Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin compared Babar Azam to a "tortoise" after his slow innings hurt Pakistan in their Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. Babar struggled throughout his innings, and his sluggish half-century ended up being more of a setback for Pakistan in their chase of 321 runs.
Taking to X Ashwin wrote, "Babar’s journey to 50 coupled with Salman Ali Agha’s batting has to be the best depiction of “ The Tortoise and Rabbit story” #ChampionsTrophy. The 50 I hope will come soon enough🤞"
Babar Azam's painfully knock in Champions Trophy opener
Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel opened the innings but failed to show intent early on. Shakeel was dismissed by Will O’Rourke in the fourth over, while Babar’s struggles had only just begun. His inability to rotate the strike put pressure on Pakistan, and he managed just two boundaries in the powerplay.
The situation worsened when captain Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed, leaving Pakistan at a disastrous 22/2 after 10 overs – the lowest powerplay score by any team in Champions Trophy history.
Babar eventually reached his half-century off 81 balls and attempted to accelerate, scoring 14 runs off his next 8 deliveries, including a six. However, his effort to clear the boundary once again off New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner resulted in a top edge, ending his innings at a laborious 64 off 90 balls, featuring just six boundaries.
After Babar’s dismissal, Khushdil Shah played an attacking knock of 66 off 49 balls to ensure Pakistan’s net run rate did not take a major hit, keeping their semi-final hopes alive with two group-stage matches remaining. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 260 in 47.2 overs, handing New Zealand a comfortable 60-run victory.
