Babar Azam finally ended his extended century drought with a composed and match-winning unbeaten 102 against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Rawalpindi. His latest milestone came after 807 days without a hundred and after going through 83 international innings and 33 ODI innings without reaching triple figures. The chase of 289 was anchored by Babar’s calm presence as Pakistan secured an eight-wicket victory with 10 balls remaining.
His return to three figures mirrors an interesting coincidence: Virat Kohli’s own century drought between 2019 and 2022 also lasted exactly 83 innings. Babar’s previous hundred had come during the 2023 Asia Cup against Nepal in the 50-over format, making this long-awaited milestone even more significant.
With this knock, Babar now holds the record for the most ODI centuries scored on Pakistani soil with eight, surpassing Mohammad Yousuf. It also marked his 20th ODI hundred, placing him level with Saeed Anwar at the top of Pakistan’s all-time list. He stands third fastest to reach ODI centuries in terms of innings played—behind Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli.
Babar is also close to breaking Inzamam-ul-Haq’s tally of most 100-run ODI partnerships for Pakistan. Inzamam has 41 while Babar now stands at 40. His composed innings arrived a day after the match was postponed due to a tragic attack in Islamabad. Once he reached his century in the 48th over, the satisfaction on his face reflected the weight lifted off his shoulders as the Rawalpindi crowd applauded and Mohammad Rizwan embraced him at the crease.
Babar was named Player of the Match for his standout performance. He credited self-belief and hard work, saying he had been getting starts but failing to convert them. With this win, Pakistan claimed the series 2-0, marking four consecutive bilateral ODI series wins over Sri Lanka and extending their dominance with 11 wins in their last 12 encounters.
