Pakistan's superstar batter Babar Azam heaved a sigh in relief as he ended his 733-day-long drought of half century on December 28 in Centurion. It happened during the third day of the South Africa versus Pakistan's Boxing Day Test in Centurion, where he scored a brilliant 50 off 85 balls in his team's second essay.
Babar Azam finally clocks a fifty after 733 days
Babar Azam, who was going through a patchy phase in Test cricket, finally found his mojo back. He completed his half-century off 80 balls to roar back to form. However, his innings was cut short in the 37th over when Marco Jansen dismissed him.
Prior to this half-century, the former Pakistan captain had endured a prolong dry spell in Test cricket. Notably, his last fifty came against New Zealand in Karachi, dating back 733 days. This period witnessed a notable dip in form for Pakistan's no.3 batter. During this lean spell, his highest score was a modest 41 runs off 79 balls against Australia in Melbourne last year.
Coincidentally, Babar's last Test century also came against New Zealand during their tour of Pakistan in 2022. Notably, Babar has clocked an a batting average of 43.55 in 56 Tests since his debut in 2016. Babar returned to the fold after being dropped during the England series. However, he didn't click with the bat in the first innings. He edged a delivery to Aiden Markram at second slip, departing for a mere four runs.
Babar has also scripted a history riding on his fifty. He became only the third player, after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to achieve the remarkable feat of scoring over 4,000 runs in all three formats of international cricket.
Babar's Test tally currently stands at 4,001 runs from 56 matches, with an impressive average of 43.49, including nine centuries and 26 half-centuries. In ODIs, the 30-year-old has amassed a remarkable 5,957 runs in 123 matches, averaging 56.73 with 19 centuries and 34 half-centuries. In T20Is, he has consistently performed, scoring 4,223 runs in 128 matches at an average of 39.84, including three centuries and 36 half-centuries.
Unfortunately, Babar's early dismissal deepened Pakistan's struggles. Shortly after his dismissal, Saud Shakeel (84 off 113), who appeared eager to accelerate the scoring rate, also returned to the pavilion, further hindering Pakistan's progress. Pakistan ended up posting 237 runs on the board in their second innings, handing South Africa an easy target of 148 runs.