E-Paper
Sign in
Babar Azam breaks century drought, scores one after 807 days and 83 innings; Virat Kohli's coincidence takes the cake
Babar Azam has finally done it. The century drought is over at last! Here's how many runs he scored in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.
The wait is finally over. Babar Azam has finally done it. The former Pakistan captain ended his long-standing century drought as he went past the three-figure mark for the first time in international cricket after 83 innings and 33 innings in ODIs. The right-handed batter played an unbeaten knock of 102 off 119 balls as Pakistan chased down the target of 289 in the second ODI against Sri Lanka with eight wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Co-incidentally, Virat Kohli’s international century drought from 2019 to 2022 had also spanned exactly 83 innings. The former India captain had finally scored a century against Afghanistan in the 2022 Men's Asia Cup, which was played in the T20 format in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Speaking of Babar, his last century before the 2nd ODI against Sri Lanka had come in the 2023 Asia Cup against Nepal. At that time, the continental tournament was played in the 50-over format. The batter took 807 days after the competition to score another century in international cricket.
This was Babar's eighth ODI century on Pakistani soil, the most by a Pakistani batter, surpassing Mohammad Yousuf (7). This was also his 20th ODI ton, and he is now at the top spot alongside Saeed Anwar in the list of scoring the most ODI centuries by a Pakistani batter.
He is also the third fastest to hit ODI centuries in terms of innings (136), only behind Hashim Amla (108) and Virat Kohli (133). The right-hander, 31, is also on the cusp of breaking Inzamam-ul-Haq's record of featuring in the most 100-run partnerships for Pakistan.
Also Read: Security scare on Babar Azam’s birthday as crazed fan storms dressing room; what he heard later left him speechless
While Inzamam featured in 41 stands of 100 or more runs in ODIs, Babar has done it on 40 occasions. Speaking of Babar, he was in precise touch in the second ODI against Sri Lanka, which got pushed back by a day due to the attack in Islamabad, where 12 people lost their lives.
As soon as Babar brought up his century in the 48th over of the game, there was a visible satisfaction on his face, as he soaked in the applause of the crowd. He then also received a warm hug from wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.
What did Babar say?
To no one's surprise, Babar was adjudged as Player of the Match for his unbeaten performance against the Charith Asalanka-led side in the second ODI.
Speaking to the broadcasters, Babar said, “I wanted to believe in myself and my hard work. I was getting off to good starts, but I wasn't able to live up to the expectations. I was getting out at the wrong times. I was just trying my best. It's an honour to get past all the records of all legends.”
Speaking of the second ODI, as a result of a victory in Rawalpindi, Pakistan gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. This was Pakistan's fourth consecutive bilateral ODI series win against Sri Lanka and their third straight series win on home soil.
Pakistan have now also won 11 of the last 12 head-to-head ODIs vs Sri Lanka.
