Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators faced each other in Match 25 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 at Pindi Club Ground on Wednesday (March 9).
It was a high-scoring affair, in which Gladiators defeated Zalmi by eight wickets. Opting to bat first, Peshawar rode on skipper Babar Azam’s century (115 off 65 balls) to post 240/2 on the board.
In reply, Quetta overhauled the target with 10 balls to spare, as Jason Roy smashed a dazzling unbeaten hundred (145* off 63 balls).
Despite hitting a ton, Babar copped criticism over his pace of scoring. The Zalmi captain got off to a blazing start but he slowed down considerably while getting closer to his century.
Notably, Babar Azam was on 83 off 46 balls and then took 14 deliveries to notch the three-figure mark.
The sudden fall in strike-rate didn't go unnoticed as commentator Simon Doull, who was on-air at the time, slammed Babar for putting his personal milestone above the team's goal.
“Rather than putting the team first... the last little while, that's all that been happening. Rather than looking for boundaries, still so much firepower to come. Hundreds are brilliant, stats are great, but it has to be team first,” Doull said while commentating.
Here’s the video:
Earlier in the tournament, Babar Azam had faced flak for scoring 75 not out off 58 balls in a match against Islamabad United.
Commenting on his innings, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had said that while Babar starts the innings strongly, he needs to finish it aggressively as well.
“Babar played well (against Islamabad United). He was great in the middle overs, considering the situation as well. But there is scope for improvement in one aspect; in the last two overs, if you compare with Virat Kohli, or even Mohammad Rizwan on the innings he played in the last match, you can make a difference of 20 runs on your own. You have to find your own way on how to put bowlers under pressure. You need to have that capability. He's a world class batter and he can do that,” Misbah said on Samaa TV.
