New Delhi: Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam batted with the tail to get his side closer to the score posted by Sri Lankans. An interesting scene was seen in the game when Naseem Shah, Pakistan’s 11th number batsman, raised his bat after scoring his first run on the 39th delivery. Naseem ended up scoring 5*(52), which helped Babar Azam to complete his century and keep the scoreboard ticking.
Usually, batters raise their bats to celebrate a half-century or a century, but in the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Naseem Shah did it after scoring a single run. His first run came after batting with grit and facing 38 deliveries during a crucial match situation. A similar incident was seen in the famous Sydney Test between India and Australia in 2008, where Rahul Dravid raised his bat after getting off the mark on the 40th delivery he faced.
Babar Azam and Naseem Shah put up a partnership of 70 runs off 185 balls to lead Pakistan to a score of 218. Both the teams saw a similar graph while batting as a batting collapse led to decent partnerships for the last 2 wickets (actually the last 3 wickets for Pakistan).
Fans are pouring with reactions to Naseem’s celebration on Twitter.
Naseem Shah celebrates his first run ?#SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/iwNQfRKUTS
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) July 17, 2022
HOW CAN YOU JUST NOT LOVE NASEEM SHAH??pic.twitter.com/SpuUDKRoOa
— F (@falahtah) July 17, 2022
Cricket journalist Dennis also shared his views.
Naseem Shah acknowledges the crowd after working out how to hold a bat. pic.twitter.com/DUrzBiZ27I
— Naseem Dennishah (@DennisCricket_) July 17, 2022
Defense minister of Pakistan cricket
Naseem shah. #PAKvsSL #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/E90gHLWNiI— cricket69 (@cricket69_) July 17, 2022
Naseem Shah earned a lot of appreciation for his courageous batting in the game.
Naseem Shah, celebrating his captain’s ? ✨? #BabarAzam? pic.twitter.com/Vc0Jgtsb82
— Hijaab ✨ (@hijaaaaab) July 17, 2022
Even Pakistan’s cricketing star Javeria Khan also tweeted to appreciate the anchor role played by Naseem.
Spectacular and brave 100 from Babar Azam. Naseem shah was a great anchor to him.
Well done both of you ??#SLvPAK
— Javeria Khan (@ImJaveria) July 17, 2022
Naseem Shah appreciation tweet ❤#SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/lBY72CIFjV
— cricbased (@cricbased) July 17, 2022
Rock. Solid. Naseem. Shah. ?#SLvPAK | #Cricket #MuhammadUsman786 pic.twitter.com/JmP7nx9kXk
— Muhammad Usman786 (@CricketNewsPAKK) July 17, 2022
NASEEM SHAH IS OFF THE MARK!
He raises his bat to the gallery, the world applauds. What a man. #SLvPAK
— Change of Pace (@ChangeofPace414) July 17, 2022
Naseem Shah justifying his selection #SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/9B5dyNlXRB
— ??????? ?? (@itsmeSehrish) July 17, 2022
Incredible ? by Captain @babarazam258 What a Batsman. Who could ever think of this ? once support wasn’t there. Big contributions goes to NASEEM SHAH who kept his cool & stood by his Captain. At one stage PAK were short of 100 Runs but Handwork pays off. Babar is a Top Batsman
— Faisal Moid (@FMmoid) July 17, 2022
In the game, Sri Lanka ended up scoring 222 runs in the first innings with Dinesh Chandimal scoring 76 off 115 balls. Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets as Sri Lanka’s batting collapsed. In return, Pakistan scored 218 as Babar Azam fought a lone battle by hitting 119(244). Prabath Jayasuriya took a 5-fer to help Sri Lanka take a four runs lead.
