LAHORE: On Monday, Babar Azam displayed a different side of his game. He knew he had to lead the charge for his team. The captain of Peshawar Zalmi, who has never been one to go for the outlandish extravagance that has come to define Twenty20 cricket, proved he could combine flair and finesse.
Every time their indigenous superstar faced the ball, the Gaddafi Stadium crowd would chant his name. This was Babar 2.0. Coach Darren Sammy of Zalmi even shook his head, grinning wryly at what he saw.
Babar proved he can do it all just a few days after a video of him responding furiously to supporters who yelled “ZimBabar,” a nickname given to him on social media for making big runs against less illustrious opponents like Zimbabwe.
After Islamabad United had sent them in to bat, Zalmi’s hopes were pinned on Babar to deliver the winning blow after he had watched his teammates fall one after the other.
The right-hander, noted for his grace, unleashed wildness in the 18th over, which was bowled by rookie Hunain Shah, after hitting Naseem Shah for a six down the ground in the preceding over. Before striking a six on the second delivery, Babar stepped over the stumps and carted the ball for four over fine leg.
Babar found the fine-leg rope for the third ball in the same manner as he had for the first. He would score two more boundaries off the following two balls, bringing Zalmi closer to 200 and bringing himself closer to his century.
After dismissing Tymal Mills for four to begin the eighteenth over, Babar reached his fifty-seven off forty-nine balls, but he reached his fifty-seven off fifty-seven when he brought up his ton two balls later.
His final four, which came off the penultimate delivery when he shaped to paddle but adjusted late to dab it away to the point boundary, was possibly the greatest and most ridiculous of his 14 total fours.
Despite the best efforts of Azam Khan (75) and Colin Munro (71), who brought their side close but left in an understandable late collapse, Babar concluded with a magnificent 111 not out of 63 balls, enabling Zalmi score 201-5 – a goal that proved beyond United.
Babar’s ton and his delayed acceleration turned out to be significant in the end. His choice to switch to spinner Arif Yaqoob for the penultimate over proved to be crucial as well; in a game that seemed to be in the bag, United lost by eight runs and have now lost three straight. The spinner finished with four wickets off just six deliveries.
In contrast, Zalmi has won three straight after starting the HBL Pakistan Super League season with two losses.
They started the match quickly as Saim Ayub opened with Babar after he had scored 88 the day before against Lahore Qalandars. He blasted a quick 38 off of 21 balls, including two sixes and three fours, one of which was off of Tymal Mills.
However, Zalmi lost two more wickets for a total of just five runs after the opening stand of 77 was broken, with Saim failing to sweep off Agha Salman and breaking his stumps. Shadab Khan claimed both wickets in an over.
After forcing Mohammad Haris to return with a crisp return on the second attempt, the captain of United initially held on to trap Haseebullah Khan leg before wicket.
Babar finally put an end to Zalmi’s 28-ball boundary drought as he reached his half-century in the 13th over.
However, when Rovman Powell was dismissed after a mishap in the middle and Paul Walter (19) was run out, Babar produced a spectacular end to the innings with Asif Ali chiming in with an undefeated 17 off nine balls.
Luke Wood’s slower pass was missed by opener Jordan Cox (13) and the ball crashed into his stumps, giving United a purposeful start to the chase and a lead of 32.
Despite losing wickets, Munro, Cox’s opening partner, remained unflinching. After misfiring on spinner Arif Yaqoob, Shadab left the field. Saim then returned fire, dismissing Agha Salman, who had hammered him for a four and a six in the two deliveries prior.
Azam added a wrinkle to the story as United was struggling at 73-3 midway through the tenth over. With impressive power-hitting and Munro’s excellent assistance, he was trying to push his side over the edge.
He blasted an incredible six sixes and seven fours in a 30-ball barrage, thoroughly disdaining the Zalmi bowlers in the process.
Munro also showed off his skills, hitting seven fours and a six in his 53-ball knock. United appeared ready to end the match with 21 more runs needed off 13 balls when Azam blasted Naveen-ul-Haq for six on the fifth ball of the eighteenth over.
But when he attempted to go big down the ground on the final ball of that over, Azam fell, setting up the dramatic finish.
The very next ball, Munro attempted to hit Arif out of the park but was stumped. Two balls later, Babar was ecstatic to see Haider Ali hole out in the deep. Faheem Ashraf’s reverse sweep went straight to the fielder, and Powell pouched Hunain, so Arif ended up with two wickets in the final two balls of his spell.
United needed 19 runs from the final over, and although though Naseem hit Salman Irshad for six off the opening ball, Babar’s catch to end Imad Wasim’s innings with two balls remaining secured the victory for his team.
