Babar Azam has previously registered multiple centuries in Twenty20 cricket and remains among the leading century-makers in the format, second only to Chris Gayle in total T20 hundreds. Despite recent criticism regarding a perceived slow scoring rate and a period of exclusion from the national side, he has now achieved a distinctive statistical milestone.
On Sunday night in the Pakistan Super League, representing Peshawar Zalmi against Quetta Gladiators, Babar Azam scored an unbeaten 100 from 52 deliveries. His innings, played at a strike rate of approximately 192, featured only a single dot ball. This constitutes the lowest number of dot balls recorded in an innings of 50 or more deliveries in T20 cricket.
Opening the innings for Peshawar, Babar began cautiously, scoring one run from his first delivery. In the following over, he added seven runs from three balls. He then built his innings progressively, reaching his half-century in 31 deliveries. Earlier in the same tournament, he had remained unbeaten on 87 and 71 in separate matches, indicating consistent form leading into this performance. After reaching fifty, he increased his scoring tempo and moved steadily into the nineties.
The century was completed on the final delivery of the innings. Standing on 98, Babar struck a delivery from Alzarri Joseph towards long-on and completed a second run with a dive to reach three figures. This marked his third century in the PSL and the 12th of his T20 career.
His innings included four sixes and six fours. In addition, he scored one three, nine twos, and accumulated 31 runs through singles. Overall, he scored from 51 of the 52 deliveries he faced. The only dot ball occurred on the final delivery of the 14th over, when he elected to leave a 146.7 km/h bouncer delivered by Alzarri Joseph.
A summary of Babar Azam’s innings is provided below:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Runs | 100* |
| Balls Faced | 52 |
| Strike Rate | ~192 |
| Fours | 6 |
| Sixes | 4 |
| Dot Balls | 1 |
| Singles | 31 runs |
| Twos | 9 instances |
| Threes | 1 instance |
Peshawar Zalmi posted a total of 255 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs. In response, Quetta Gladiators were dismissed for 137, resulting in a victory margin of 118 runs. Babar Azam’s innings was central to both the team’s total and the eventual outcome, while also establishing a new benchmark for strike efficiency in extended T20 innings.