SYDNEY (Kashmir English): Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam has scored his maiden 50 runs in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the Sydney Sixers against the Sydney Thunder, after he failed to create an impact in the BBL.
In the Sixers’ third match of the tournament at the SCG on Saturday, he put 58 runs on the scorecard for 42 balls with five fours and two sixes, before he was caught behind by Sam Billings on Topley’s delivery.
After two quiet outings to start his debut season, questions were being asked about whether Babar would adapt to the pace and bounce on offer, with social media happily replaying his early struggles.
Despite the early loss of Daniel Hughes for 25, Babar Azam anchored the innings, and strike-rotation allowed Josh Philippe to attack, before gradually opening up his own range of shots.
The pair settled into a fluent partnership, punishing anything loose and keeping the scoreboard moving. Philippe produced a rapid half-century of his own, while Babar mixed classical strokes with powerful hits down the ground and over the infield as the two added a century stand to set up a commanding total for the Sixers.
Babar eventually reached his first BBL fifty in style, peppering the boundary with fours and sixes all around the ground. His innings ended in the 18th over when Reece Topley dismissed him, but not before he had made a definitive statement.
He walked off to warm applause from the SCG crowd, having scored 58 off 42 balls, with 5 fours and 2 sixes, a knock that not only powered Sydney Sixers towards a huge score but also went a long way towards answering doubts about his place in the Big Bash.
