Babar Azam Ends Two-Year Wait With Brilliant Century in Second Sri Lanka ODI

Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam finally ended his long wait for an international century on Friday during the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The former captain reached the milestone after more than two years, two months and 15 days.

Babar scored his century off 115 balls, taking a single off Pramod Madushan to reach the landmark moment. The crowd cheered loudly as he raised his bat to celebrate his 20th ODI hundred.

His previous international century came in 2023, during the ACC Men’s Asia Cup match against Nepal. Since then, he had scored many half-centuries in all formats but could not reach the three-figure mark.

In the first ODI of this series, Babar looked in good form before Wanindu Hasaranga bowled him with a googly. His 29-run innings stretched his century drought to 83 innings, which made him equal Virat Kohli on the list of players with the most innings without a century. Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya still holds the top spot on that list.

However, his 84th innings since his last hundred finally broke the drought. It took 807 days for Babar to return to triple digits.

With this knock, Babar now has 32 centuries across formats:

• 20 in ODIs
• 9 in Tests
• 3 in T20Is

He also has 104 half-centuries in international cricket, proving his consistency and class once again.