Pressure mounts on Pakistan ace Babar Azam as he's 'bowled' after a wild hack against England

There is simply no let-off for Pakistan's ace batter Babar Azam, who got out to a poor shot against England in a Super Eights match at Pallekele on Tuesday.

Babar tried a wild swing at a length ball from Jamie Overton but missed it completely and got clean-bowled. He had been struggling to find runs on a slow surface and returned with 25 runs off 24 deliveries.

Azam walked in after skipper Salman Ali Agha's dismissal (5) and fetched consecutive boundaries off Jofra Archer, one pulled through midwicket, and the other played with soft hands down short third.

But the arrival of Adil Rashid stopped the flow of runs, and the spinner, operating in tandem with Overton, frustrated Azam. He hurried a few singles between a handful of dot balls before eventually trying a wild hack that led to his removal.

Opener Sahibzada Farhan's 45-ball 63 was the lone bright spot in the Pakistan innings, which ended at 164/9 in 20 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 3/24, while Archer and Overton bagged two wickets each. 

Babar has yet to make a fifty in the World Cup, with a best of 46 against the USA. Axar Patel castled him for 5 in the big-ticket match against India in the group stages.

The 31-year-old former skipper has faced a lot of criticism for his poor batting in the World Cup. Pakistan will play all their matches in the event in Sri Lanka as they have refused to visit India, who are the primary hosts.