Babar Azam, who has been going through a rut, showed shades of his usual form for the Stallions in his side's second game of the ongoing Champions One-day Cup in Faisalabad. Stallions lost the game having been shot out for just 105 while chasing 232 against the Markhors, however, Babar's runs and the way he scored them was a good sign for Pakistan team going into the England Test series next month.
Babar scored run-a-ball 45, including 20 in just one over of the pacer Shahnawaz Dahani. Babar smashed five fours in a row against Dahani, with his strokeplay on full display at the Iqbal Stadium. After starting the eighth over of the Stallions' innings with a dot ball, Dahani banged in short on the next delivery only to be slapped by Babar towards deep mid-wicket boundary.
A length ball was dabbed towards third man on the third delivery before Dahani banged in short again and Babar cut it towards backward point for third consecutive boundary. Another short ball outside the off-stump was played marvellously through covers before Dahani banged in once again on the final delivery to be pulled ferociously for another boundary towards deep mid-wicket.
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Babar smashed three more boundaries overall to score 45, however, none of the other batters offered any resistance as Zahid Mahmood took a five-wicket haul for the Markhors. The Stallions went from 79/2 to 105 all-out as Markhors achieved their second win in a row to begin the competition.
Earlier, Iftikhar Ahmed and Salman Agha's half-centuries helped the Markhors get to a score of 231, which wasn't safe by any means but it was something their bowlers could have defended and as it turned out, they eventually did and rather comfortably. Markhors are at the top of the table with the Stallions and Panthers behind them with a win and a loss each.
