Babar Azam has ended a century drought after 83 international innings, bringing an end to the fans’ wait for this moment after two years and two and a half months.
The former Pakistan captain scored his 20th hundred in international cricket against Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series at Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Friday, while chasing 289.
With this win, Pakistan have also sealed the series by 2-0 with one game left.
Babar has also equalled the record of Pakistan’s legend Saeed Anwar for most centuries in ODI cricket for the Green Shirts.
Sri Lanka scored 288/8 in the allotted 50 overs, with Janith Liyanage as their top scorer with 54 off 63 deliveries.
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For Pakistan, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed each took three wickets apiece.
The Green Shirts then chased the target on the second ball of the 49th over at the cost of two wickets, with Babar Azam unbeaten on 102 on 119 balls and Mohammad Rizwan not out on 51 runs on 54 balls.
Babar brought up the match-winning century off 115 balls when he pulled Pramod Madushan for a single.
Babar last scored an international century during the ACC Men’s Asia Cup match against Nepal in 2023, and since then, he has been unable to score one across all formats despite scoring a lot of half-centuries.
The ton marks Babar’s 32nd in international cricket, with a record of 20 in ODIs, nine in Tests and three in T20Is. He also has 104 half-centuries to his name across formats.
The third ODI of the series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played on November 16 in Rawalpindi at 2:30 PM local time.