Trinidad: Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam has now gone 33 consecutive Test innings without scoring a century, extending a lean run that has tested both his consistency and patience as he continues to chase his 10th Test hundred.
The ongoing first Test against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad, marks Babar’s 21st Test as Pakistan’s captain and the 63rd Test match of his international career.
Babar, who ranks among Pakistan’s top 10 highest run-scorers in Test cricket, has scored nine centuries in 115 Test innings. However, his wait for a landmark 10th Test century has become increasingly prolonged.
The right-handed batter scored his maiden Test century after 32 innings, but his most recent hundred came in December 2022, when he made 161 runs against New Zealand in Karachi. Since that innings, he has been unable to convert his starts into a three-figure score in the longest format.
Over the 42 months since his last Test century, Babar has played 33 Test innings, struggling to produce the kind of substantial innings that have defined his career in the past.
His inconsistency during this period is reflected in the statistics. Across those 33 innings, he has crossed the 100-ball mark only twice, highlighting his difficulty in playing long, match-defining knocks.
During the same stretch, Babar has accumulated 863 runs, including five half-centuries, but has been unable to reach the century mark despite several opportunities.
Widely regarded as one of Pakistan’s finest batters of the modern era, Babar remains a key figure in the national Test side. Cricket analysts and fans alike will be hoping that he rediscovers his best form and ends his lengthy century drought in the matches ahead.
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