Babar Azam reached a notable milestone in Twenty20 cricket during Peshawar Zalmi’s eight-wicket victory over Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The Zalmi captain played an unbeaten innings of 71 runs from 51 balls, and in doing so, registered his 100th half-century in T20 cricket.
This achievement places Babar among a select group of players. He is the fourth batter in the history of the format to reach 100 fifties, following Australia’s David Warner, India’s Virat Kohli, and England’s Jos Buttler. Babar is also the first Pakistani batter to attain this milestone.
In the ongoing PSL season, Babar has maintained consistent form. He is one of only two players to have scored more than 300 runs so far, alongside his Peshawar Zalmi teammate Kusal Mendis. Mendis leads the run-scoring chart with 330 runs in six innings, while Babar is second with 301 runs from the same number of innings. Among the top ten run-scorers in the tournament, Babar holds the highest batting average at 75.25. However, among the top five run-getters, his strike rate of 132.59 is the lowest.
In overall T20 statistics, David Warner leads the list for the most half-centuries, having scored 116 fifties in 435 innings. Virat Kohli follows with 107 fifties in 402 innings. Babar, with 100 fifties in 341 innings, is third on the list. Jos Buttler, who reached the same milestone during an Indian Premier League match against Lucknow Super Giants with a 60-run innings, is fourth, having achieved the mark in 468 innings.
The leading players in terms of T20 half-centuries are shown below:
| Player | Innings | Fifties | Centuries | 50+ Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Warner | 435 | 116 | 10 | 126 |
| Virat Kohli | 402 | 107 | 9 | 116 |
| Babar Azam | 341 | 100 | 11 | 111 |
| Jos Buttler | 468 | 100 | — | — |
Babar has also surpassed West Indies batter Chris Gayle in terms of total scores of fifty or more in T20 cricket. With 11 centuries included, Babar now has 111 scores of 50 or above, compared to Gayle’s 110 (88 fifties and 22 centuries). Warner leads this category with 126 such scores, followed by Kohli with 116, while Babar is third.
Earlier in the tournament, during a match against Lahore Qalandars, Babar became the first batter in PSL history to reach 4,000 runs. His performances throughout the season have remained consistent.
Peshawar Zalmi have strengthened their position at the top of the PSL points table following their win over Quetta Gladiators. They now have 13 points from seven matches. Multan Sultans are in second place with 8 points from six matches, while Islamabad United occupy third position with 7 points from the same number of matches.