Babar Azam ended a 67-innings wait for a T20 century with a breathtaking unbeaten 100 off 52 balls for Peshawar Zalmi against Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League on Sunday, silencing critics who had long questioned his effectiveness in the shortest format.
The Peshawar captain reached three figures off the very last ball of the innings, driving a full-length delivery from Jahandad Khan towards long-on and diving full length to complete the second run. He lay on the ground for a moment before leaping to his feet, punching the air in celebration — a release of emotion entirely fitting for a milestone two years in the making.
Babar’s previous T20 century had come in the 2024 PSL, when he scored an unbeaten 111 off 63 balls against Islamabad United. Sunday’s hundred was his third in the PSL and his 12th in all T20 cricket, a tally bettered only by Chris Gayle, who holds the record with 22.
The knock was compiled with six fours and four sixes, with just a single dot ball across the entire innings — a pointed response to those who have criticised his strike rate in recent years. At 52 balls, it was also the second fastest century of his T20 career, behind only his 49-ball effort against South Africa in 2021.
The century capped a remarkable turnaround from last season, when Babar managed just 288 runs in ten innings. This time around, he surpassed that tally in only seven innings, finishing Sunday’s match with 401 runs at an average of 100.25 and a strike rate of 143.72.
He began the season with 39 against newcomers Rawalpindi, before finding his rhythm with an unbeaten 87 against Karachi Kings in his third match. An unbeaten 71 against Quetta preceded Sunday’s century against the very same opposition.
Babar’s innings was complemented magnificently by Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Mendis, who struck 83 off 44 balls, including ten fours and three sixes. The pair put on 135 together, with Mendis threatening a century of his own before being dismissed with the score at 255.
With Mendis gone and Babar on 58, the Zalmi captain shifted through the gears, hitting Abrar Ahmed for six before launching two sixes and a four off Usman Tariq. He reached the nineties with another six off Alzarri Joseph in the 19th over, before completing the century with that dramatic dive off the final delivery.
Peshawar finished on 255 for 3, their highest ever PSL total and the third highest in the tournament’s history, behind Quetta’s 263 against Islamabad in the previous edition and Multan Sultans’ 262 against Quetta in 2023.
