Babar Azam finally ended his 807-day wait for a One-day International century, scoring an unbeaten 102 to lead Pakistan to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, sealing the three-match series with a game to spare.
The former Pakistan skipper, under intense scrutiny after 83 innings without a three-figure score, struck eight boundaries in a 119-ball innings that blended patience with poise.
He reached his milestone in the 47th over, pulling pacer Pramod Madushan to midwicket for a single, before collapsing to his knees in prostration and embracing Mohammad Rizwan at the non-striker’s end. The Rawalpindi crowd erupted, having waited long for this moment.
Reaching the milestone, Babar equalled former opener Saeed Anwar’s record for the most ODI hundreds for Pakistan — 20 centuries.
Rizwan played the ideal supporting role, remaining unbeaten on 51 off 54 balls, hitting five fours and a six. The pair added an unbroken 112 for the third wicket, guiding Pakistan across the finish line two balls into the 49th over.
The chase began explosively. Openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman raced to 77-0 in the Powerplay. Saim smashed 33 off 25 balls (five fours and a six) before holing out to mid-off off pacer Dushmantha Chameera in the 10th over.
Fakhar, dropped thrice, anchored with 78 off 93 balls (eight fours and six) before falling to a superb low catch by Janith Liyanage at short midwicket off Chameera in the 31st.
Sri Lanka’s fielding lapses proved decisive. Fakhar survived a skier spilled by substitute Pavan Rathnayake, a miscued loft dropped by Asitha Fernando at long-off off Charith Asalanka, and an earlier edge. These errors allowed Pakistan to maintain momentum on a pitch offering little after early swing.
Chameera was Sri Lanka’s only wicket-taker, finishing with 2-58 in 10 overs. The rest struggled: Asitha Fernando leaked 66 in 8.2 overs without success, Pramod Madushan conceded 62 in eight, while Wanindu Hasaranga, usually a threat, went wicketless for 35 in 10. Captain Asalanka’s part-time spin and Janith Liyanage’s medium pace offered no control.
Babar, initially cautious, grew in confidence. He reached fifty off 66 balls with a short-arm jab through point, then accelerated with trademark cover drives and pulls. Rizwan, joining at 177-2, rotated strike expertly before raising his fifty with a steer to deep midwicket.
The winning runs came off Asitha in the 49th over — Babar guiding a low full toss to cover. The pair walked off grinning, series sealed.
Earlier, having starred with the ball in the opener, Haris Rauf was at it again as Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 288-8.
The pacer, who finished with 3-66, responded each time when called upon, especially when Sri Lanka were threatening to post an even bigger total where he picked up two quick wickets to snuff out their hopes.
