Babar Azam extends his century drought to 711 days after crashing for duck in second ODI against West Indies

Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam continued his century-less rut in the second ODI against West Indies after he fell for duck which took his ton drought to 711 days.

Babar Azam's lean patch continues

After winning the toss, West Indies chose to bowl first against Pakistan in the second ODI, looking to bounce back from their five-wicket loss in the series opener. Pakistan got off to a steady start with openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, but the partnership was broken in the ninth over when Jayden Seales forced Ayub to nick one behind to the slips.

The very next ball, Pakistan's hopes were dealt another blow as captain Babar Azam came in at number three but was immediately dismissed for a duck by Seales, playing down the wrong line to a full delivery. This quick double-strike left Pakistan in a difficult position at 37 for 2, bringing Mohammad Rizwan to the crease. This was Babar's fifth duck in his ODI career, his previous one having come against Afghanistan in August 2023. At the time of writing, Pakistan's score was 50 for 2 after 14 overs. Following his previous duck, Babar had bounced back with two consecutive fifties against Afghanistan before scoring a massive 151 against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup. That century remains his last in international cricket to date. It's been 711 days (28 innings) since he cracked an international cricket.

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Since his last century, Babar Azam has scored 929 runs in 28 ODI innings at an average of 37.16 and a strike rate of 79.53. These numbers are significantly lower than his career averages of 54.62 and 87.78, respectively. While he has managed nine scores of 50 or more during this period, he has failed to convert any of them into a century, with his highest score being 78. This slump is a stark contrast to his earlier form, where he had already smashed 19 centuries and 37 half-centuries in just 102 ODI innings.

Babar's dip in form isn't limited to ODIs. Since the 2023 Asia Cup, his Test average has fallen to 23.15 across 10 matches, with no centuries and only three fifties. In T20Is, he has scored 738 runs from 24 matches at an average of 33.54 and a strike rate of 133.21. This period has also been marked by a tumultuous time for him personally, as he has cycled through periods of captaincy and also been dropped from both the Test and T20I teams before eventually making a return in the longest format.