Pakistan fans can finally celebrate as Babar Azam has broken his long-running century drought in style. The former Pakistan captain smashed an unbeaten 102 off 119 balls to break his long-running century drought across the formats at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Babar Azam’s stunning century guided Pakistan to a dominant eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday, November 14. The chase of 289 looked challenging at one stage, but Babar controlled the innings with calmness and class, taking his team home with 10 balls remaining.
Babar Azam ends 807-day drought with epic century against Sri Lanka
This century was more than just a personal milestone, as it ended Babar Azam’s dry patch that stretched across 83 international innings, including 33 ODI innings. The Pakistan star took 807 days to break the drought, and it was one of the longest gaps between centuries for a modern-day batting superstar.
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The former Pakistan’s last international hundred had come during the 2023 Asia Cup against Nepal. With this knock, Babar has now moved to the top of Pakistan’s all-time ODI century list. He now shares the number one position with 20 centuries alongside Saeed Anwar.
Behind them are Mohammad Yousuf with 15, and both Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman with 11 centuries each. There’s an interesting twist to the milestone too.
Babar’s century drought lasted the exact same number of innings—83—as India’s batting icon Virat Kohli’s famous dry run between 2019 and 2022. Kohli eventually broke his century drought during the Asia Cup against Afghanistan in the UAE. And now Babar has ended his century drought at home.
Babar Azam rewrites history in Rawalpindi
Meanwhile, Azam’s unbeaten century in Rawalpindi has not only ended a long wait for a hundred but also pushed him past several legendary names in Pakistani cricket. With this innings, Babar now holds the record for the most ODI centuries on Pakistani soil, overtaking Mohammad Yousuf’s tally of seven. He now has eight ODI centuries at home to his name.
Additionally, the right-handed batter has become the third-fastest player in the world to reach 20 ODI centuries, getting there in just 136 innings after Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli.
Babar is now just one step away from equalling Inzamam-ul-Haq’s record for the most ODI centuries for Pakistan. Inzamam, the former Pakistan captain and former chief selector, leads the chart with 41 100-run partnerships, while Babar already has 40 such partnerships.
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Babar Azam reflects on hard work after record-breaking ton
After being adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning knock against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, the right-handed batter explained that he kept trusting his skills and the effort he was putting in, and now he feels proud to have achieved these milestones.
Babar said at the post-match presentation, “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 honor to get past all the records of all legends.”
