Zalmi captain was on 80 off 44 at one point but took 16 more deliveries to get to his century
09 March, 2023
PHOTO: PSL
Peshawar Zalmi captain, Babar Azam, was criticised by Simon Doull for slowing down to complete his maiden PSL century during the match between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday.
Babar was on 80 off 44 at one point but took 16 more deliveries to get to his century, completing it by hitting a boundary.
Zalmi ended up losing the match, courtesy of a record-breaking inning of 145 runs by Jason Roy, which is the highest individual score in PSL history.
ALSO READ: Simon Doull criticises Babar Azam for selfish PSL century
However, it was not the first time the 28-year-old tried to be a little cautious while closing in on the hundred-mark in T20 cricket.
Last year, during the seven match series between Pakistan and England, Babar played a match-winning 110-run knock in the second T20I to chase down a 200-run target set by the tourists.
Babar and Rizwan were cruising to the target till the 17th over, as they required 24 from 18 balls to win the match, with Pakistan captain on 98 not out from 58.
In the 18th over, Babar missed the first two deliveries and then took a single on next ball to reach 99. Rizwan also managed a single on the next delivery.
With Pakistan needing 22 from 14 deliveries, Babar decided to tap and run for a single to complete his century, instead of trying to hit a boundary and making the equation easier for the team.
In the end, it didn’t cost Pakistan team as they managed to score 17 runs in the next over and finish the game with three balls to spare. However, the match didn’t end without a few nervous moments for the Pakistan fans.
