Last Updated on 6 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Babar Azam’s wait for a tenth Test century continued after he was dismissed for 16 AND 50 in second Test against South Africa. Pakistan’s number four was brilliantly caught by Tony de Zorzi at silly point off the bowling off Keshav Maharaj in the first innings, much to the shock of the fans at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
In the second innings, Babar played quite nicely, but his innings was cut short early on day four, trapped LBW by Simon Harmer.
Babar Azam’s last Test century stretches back nearly three years
Babar Azam’s last Test century was a masterful 161 against New Zealand at Karachi in December 2022, some 29 innings ago. In that same year, Babar also made hundreds against Australia (196 at Karachi), Sri Lanka (119 at Galle) and England (136 at Rawalpindi).
By the end of 2022, Babar had 3,645 Test runs at an average of 49.3. His average now sits at 42.38.
| Babar Azam in Tests until end of 2022 | Babar Azam in Tests since his last century |
| 83 innings | 29 innings |
| 3,645 runs | 721 runs |
| Average: 49.3 | Average: 24.86 |
| 26 fifties | 4 fifties |
| 9 hundreds | 0 hundreds |
The classy batsman even found himself dropped during last year’s Test series against England following a lean run of form. According to ESPNcricinfo, this decision was “recommended by the newly formed selection committee, which met in Lahore within hours of the loss in the first Test [by an innings against England] on Friday.”
After the two Tests against South Africa, Pakistan’s next Test assignment will be two Tests away in Bangladesh in March and April 2026. They will also play the West Indies (two Tests) and England (three Tests) away from home in mid-2026. Their next home fixtures in the World Test Championship are Sri Lanka (two Tests) in November 2026 and New Zealand (two Tests) in March 2027.
