The long wait finally ended for Babar Azam on Sunday. The former Pakistan captain scored his first T20 century in almost two years during the PSL 2026 clash in Karachi, for Peshawar Zalmi against the Quetta Gladiators.
The Peshawar Zalmi captain carved out a brilliant century at the National Stadium, batting through the full 20 overs to bring up a 52-ball ton. The milestone came off the final ball of the innings, bowled by Jahandad Khan. Babar needed two runs to reach the three-figure mark when he played an on-drive and set off for a risky second. He made a full-stretch dive as the throw went well wide, completing his century.
It was Babar’s 12th T20 century and his first since February 2024, ending a 783-day wait. He remains second on the all-time T20 century list, behind Chris Gayle (22). It was also his third PSL century, all of which have come for Peshawar Zalmi, with two of them against Quetta Gladiators, the previous one being a 65-ball 115 in Rawalpindi during the 2023 season.
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The 52-ball knock was also the second-fastest century of his career. His quickest came against South Africa in Centurion, when he scored 122 off 59 balls in 2021. However, the standout aspect of Babar’s innings in Karachi was his running between the wickets, he struck just six fours and four sixes, with the remaining 52 runs coming through singles and doubles off 42 balls. The knock featured just one dot ball, the final delivery of the 14th over, a bouncer from Alzarri Joseph.
As for the match, an 83-ball 44 from Kusal Mendis, along with handy cameos from Mohammad Haris (16 off 6), Farhan Yousaf (19 off 8), and Aaron Hardie (26* off 10), helped Peshawar Zalmi post 255/3 in 20 overs, the third-highest total in PSL history.