Babar Azam becomes second in world to score 10 T20 hundreds

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam achieved a rare feat by scoring the 10th century of his T20 career at Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Monday, becoming the second in the world to hit 10 tons in this format of the game after West Indian legend Chris Gayle.

‘Universe Boss’ Gayle, who holds the record for smashing the highest individual score (175* vs Pune Warriors, IPL 2013), leads the tally with 22 tons in 463 matches.

The Pakistan skipper has scored three T20 hundreds at the international level, two each in the Vitality Blast and National T20 Cup, for Somerset and Central Punjab, respectively. 

He also has a hundred in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Peshawar Zalmi and another in a tour match against Leicestershire.

Babar pushed his tally of T20 centuries to 10 with his maiden triple-digit score at the LPL and also claimed the title of the fourth-ever centurion in the tournament’s history.

Not only that, the 28-year-old star is now the only Asian cricketer to score 10 T20 hundreds.

After Babar, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli is the second Asian to score most T20 centuries with eight tons.

The prolific batter smashed a brilliant hundred for Colombo Strikers against the Gale Gladiators, at a strike rate of 176.2. He illustrated his stint on the wicket with spectacular cover drives, eight boundaries and five maximums.

Being one of the two opening batters, Babar stitched a consistent partnership of 111 runs with Pathum Nissanka, helping the Strikers to gain a seven-wicket victory over Gladiators.

Babar is featuring for the first time in LPL, cashing in the opportunity to fine-tune his performance ahead of major tournaments including Asia Cup and ICC World Cup. He had earlier said the tournament will help him adapt to different conditions in Asia.