The former Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been a magician with the ball in hand, has been a magician with his words, as he recently trolled Babar Azam for his sluggish innings of 64 runs off 90 balls in the Champions Trophy opener on February 19 at the Karachi Stadium. Taking his X account, Ashwin brought up the reference to the rabbit and tortoise story. And why not! A batting line, despite falling short of the target, has seen at least two crucial innings with strike rates of more than 100. On X, Ash 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.' The 50 I hope will come soon enough." 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🤞 — Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 19, 2025 Chasing 321, Pakistan struggled at 69/3 after early dismissals of Shakeel (6), Rizwan (3), and Zaman (24). Babar Azam, playing cautiously, partnered with Agha Salman, who counterattacked with 42 off 28 balls. Ashwin's mockery came right after Babar’s slow fifty (81 balls). After Salman’s dismissal at 127/4, Babar aimed to accelerate but fell for 64 off 90 at 153/6. Pakistan’s slow start, scoring just 22 in the powerplay, worsened their chase as the required run rate surged to 7.20, ultimately leading to their downfall. Babar Azam was supposed to return to form in the 2025 Champions Trophy after a poor ODI tri-series, where he scored just 62 runs at an average of 20.67. However, such an innings in the opener has drawn enough criticism even from fans. Read also: Watch: Glenn Phillips Diving Like Superman to Stuns Rizwan Pakistan vs New Zealand match summary After Babar Azam’s dismissal, Khushdil Shah and Shaheen Afridi built pressure on New Zealand until Afridi fell for 14 at 200/7. Khushdil, in fine rhythm, played aggressively but was dismissed for 69 off 49 at 229/8. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah fought despite the rising required rate, with Rauf scoring 19 off 10 before falling at 260/9. Pakistan were all out for 260 in 47.2 overs, losing by 60 runs. New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner (3/66) and William O’Rourke (3/47) took six wickets, while Matt Henry (2/25), Michael Bracewell, and Nathan Smith contributed with crucial breakthroughs. Pakistan will now face their arc rival India on February 23, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.