Pakistan captain and star batsman Babar Azam's batting struggles have reached another low in the England vs Pakistan Test series with lower-order batsman Mohammad Abbas having scored more than twice his runs in the series. Babar was dismissed for only 7 runs in the first innings of the third Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday, taking his total for the series to 21 runs. However, Abbas has scored 31 runs across the three Tests, despite being a specialist fast bowler who normally bats at the lower end of the order.
Babar had already struggled in the second Test at Lord’s, where he scored 6 and 8 in Pakistan’s two innings. His latest dismissal for 7 at Edgbaston means he has now failed to reach double figures in all three of his innings in the series. He was bowled by Josh Tongue after facing 18 balls.
The numbers make the comparison with Abbas even more striking. Abbas scored 2 and 6 in the first Test, followed by 0 and 2 at Lord’s. He then made 21 in Pakistan’s first innings at Edgbaston. His total of 31 runs is therefore 10 more than Babar’s 21 runs in the series.
Abbas has also made a bigger impact with the ball. At Lord’s, he produced an excellent performance and finished the Test with nine wickets as Pakistan suffered a 194-run defeat. England won that match to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.
Babar returned as Pakistan’s Test captain for the England series and came into the third Test under pressure after the team’s heavy defeats in the opening two matches. Pakistan also made major changes for the final Test, bringing in three debutants after seven players were released from the squad.
The Edgbaston Test has once again exposed Pakistan’s batting problems. England won the toss and chose to bowl, and their fast bowlers quickly put Pakistan under pressure. Pakistan lost seven wickets for 84 runs before the lower order offered some resistance.
For Babar, the immediate challenge is to end this poor run and provide the kind of innings expected from one of Pakistan’s leading batters. But after another single-digit score, the fact that Mohammad Abbas has scored more than twice his runs in the series is an unwanted statistic for the Pakistan captain.
