Pak vs SA 1st Test: Babar Azam ends run drought in Tests, scores half-century after 733 days

After a gap of 733 days, Pakistan's former skipper Babar Azam ended the drought and scored a half-century while playing against South Africa on DAY 3 of the first Test at Centurion.

Babar Azam scored 50 runs off 85 deliveries in the second innings on Saturday, where he smashed nine boundaries at a strike rate of 58.82. He had scored 4 runs in the first innings.

Though he reached his 50-run mark in 80 deliveries, he was sent back to the pavilion by Marco Jansen in the 37th over.

Babar's struggles with bat:

The former Pakistan skipper's last half-century in Test cricket came in December 2022, and ever since, he has struggled to score runs for his team.

According to the Times of India, Babar Azam's last half-century came against New Zealand in Karachi, and it took him 19 consecutive innings without reaching fifty.

Not only his half-century, but even his highest 41 runs off 79 deliveries came against Australia in Melbourne in 2023.

Babar Azam who has nine international centuries to his name in Tests, has not added any new one since 2022, after New Zealand toured Pakistan in that year.

Looking at Babar's stats, Babar Azam made his Test debut in 2016 and scored a total of 4051 runs at an average of 43.55. His highest score till date is 196.

Pak vs SA 1st Test:

After electing to bat first, Pakistan scored 211 runs in 57.3 over and were all out. In return, South Africa scored 301 runs in 73.4 overs and lost all of their wickets.

In the second innings, Pakistan could score only 237 runs and were all out in 59.4 overs. Meanwhile, South Africa are batting and scored 19/3 in 8 overs. They need 129 runs to win the first Test at the Centurion .