2 weeks Ago By Ayesha Tomar
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan’s T20 international team, did not have an easy time scoring in the recently concluded Test series against Bangladesh at home, as the home team lost badly, 0–2. However, the star batsman returned to form on Thursday, hitting a century in the ongoing Champions One-Day Cup in Pakistan. In the same game that former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed appeared to lash out at Babar, the team scored three goals.
With Yasir Khan and current Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood putting on a 76-run opening stand against the Stallions, anchored by Mohammad Haris, the Saud Shakeel-led Dolphins got off to a promising start in the seventh round of the domestic league. Following the former’s dismissal, Babar headed to the crease, whereupon the fans at his home ground of Faisalabad went crazy. Shortly after, Sarfaraz, the wicketkeeper for the Stallions, was overheard yelling, “No hurry, no hurry!” on the stump mic while trying to cheer up his colleagues.
Allow the throng to continue chanting “Babar, Babar.” He will have to play 40 overs; the other players will be out. Social media users quickly shared the incident’s footage, believing Sarfaraz had made a scathing jab at Babar’s skill level and strike rate.
But even though the Stallions were losing wickets at regular intervals, Babar dominated the next innings at bat, reaching a century in 99 balls and finished with 104 off 100 balls. Sarfaraz was ridiculed on social media after the knock, particularly after he was out for just five runs in fifteen balls. Babar beat the record held by former India captain Kohli to become the fastest batsman in history to attain 30 List-A centuries with the knock.
In 180 innings, he achieved his 30th century in the format—19 less than former record-holder Kohli. With Jahandad Khan and Mehran Mumtaz taking three wickets each to fold the side for a just 97 runs in the chase of 272, Stallions defeated Dolphins by an overwhelming margin of 174 runs during their undefeated knock of 104..
