KARACHI: When the entire world desperately wants peace in these depressing times that have seen the stands here at the National Bank Stadium turn deserted, roaring cheers at cricketing venues in Pakistan have become a rarity.

However, when Babar Azam hits a century, when he does that after more than two years and 67 T20 innings, when he launches four cracking sixes in his knock during the high-pressure death overs, celebrations become inevitable.

They celebrations elude no one, surely not the Peshawar Zalmi players jumping up and down like kids in the team’s dugout, not the VVIP guests who populate the special boxes and galleries of the new building at the venue, not even the Quetta Gladiators players who rushed to the middle to pat Bab­ar’s back when he completed the elusive three figures for the 12th time in the shortest format while sprinting back to the striker’s end for a couple on the last ball of the Zalmi innings.

The captain’s knock, accoun­ting for exactly 100 not out coming off 52 balls, along with Kusal Mendis 44-ball 83, boosted Zalmi to 255-3 – the third highest total in HBL Pakistan Super League history.

That was just too much for Gladiators to chase as they went down to a 118-run drubbing, their fifth loss of the ongoing tournament. Zalmi, meanwhile, remai­ned perfect, with seven wins in eight games.

Opening the innings with Mohammad Haris, Babar hardly took any risks, demonstrating trust in his natural game — as Zalmi batting coach Misbah-ul-Haq put it a few days ago, the right-hander was “timing the ball”.

Characteristic of his reputation, Babar facilitated the striker on the other end to launch the fireworks, relying on singles and doubles when his natural flow of the bat wasn’t resulting in boundaries.

Haris’ 16 off five, that included two sixes in the very first over off Jahandad Khan, gave Zalmi the platform to cruise to 80 in powerplay, with Mendis taking over after Haris departed in the second over.

Mendis, in the form of his life, hit three fours and two sixes making use of the field restrictions. Babar, meanwhile, had cracked only two boundaries in the first six overs.

The 31-year-old continued to avoid the main role, with Mendis taking charge as the pair stitched together a 135-run second-wicket stand — the 47th century partnership of Babar’s T20 career — that completely dismantled the chase before it even began.

The stand was a masterclass in contrasting styles.

Mendis was the aggressor, punishing anything short or wide with disdain. He brought up his fifty off just 24 balls with a crisp cut off Usman Tariq and later drilled Saud Shakeel straight down the ground and through backward point with authority.

One of his most audacious strokes came against the same bowler when he danced down the track and thumped a slower ball flat past long-off.

Babar, on the other hand, kept playing the perfect foil in the early phase, content with rotating strike and picking singles and doubles while his partner launched the fireworks.

Babar had struck only five fours by the middle of the 17th over, relying on timing and pla­cement rather than brute force.

But once Mendis — caught at deep midwicket off Usman Tariq — and Farhan Yousaf’s, smashing 19 off eight balls, departed, Babar turned the game on its head with Aaron Ha­r­­die joining the party at number five and unleashing a brutal onslaught.

Hardie smashed three sixes in his unbeaten 26 off 10, including a monstrous straight hit off Jahandad that helped Zalmi post their highest score of the season in Karachi.

Babar, sensing the finish line, launched into the bowlers with vintage authority. He cleared long-on with a stand-and-deliver six off Usman, hammered another over the same region against Abrar Ahmed, and produced a flat six over long-on off Alzarri Joseph.

The defining moment came on the last ball when he rushed back for a desperate two to bri­ng up his hundred, diving full stretch amid wild celebrations.

The target always looked beyond the Gladiators on a pitch that offered pace and bounce. Their chase collapsed spectacularly as Zalmi’s young pace duo of Mohammad Basit and Ali Raza ran riot.

Basit, operating with clever variations, struck twice in the fourth over, removing captain Saud and Rilee Rossouw off successive deliveries.

Saud holed out to a substitute fielder at deep midwicket, while Rossouw departed for a golden duck, brilliantly caught by Michael Bracewell diving at mid-off. Basit finished with impressive figures of 3-26, his variations proving too much for the top order.

Ali complemented him beautifully with pace and hostile short-pitched stuff. He accou­nted for Hasan Nawaz, who skied a pull to Haris at deep square leg, and later dismissed Abrar and Usman with sharp deliveries that found the edge or induced mistimed shots.

Amid the wreckage, Bevon Jacobs offered the only semblance of resistance with a gritty 34 that included three sixes. The rest of the Gladiators batting folded meekly.

SCOREBOARD

PESHAWAR ZALMI:

Mohammad Haris c Chandimal b Joseph 16

Babar Azam not out 100

Kusal Mendis c Hasan b Usman 83

Farhan Yousaf c Hasan b Abrar 19

Aaron Hardie not out 26

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-9) 11

TOTAL (for three wkts, 20 overs) 255

DID NOT BAT: Michael Bracewell, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mohammad Basit, Ali Raza

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-30 (Haris), 2-165 (Mendis), 3-189 (Farhan)

BOWLING: Jahandad 4-0-53-0 (1w), Joseph 4-0-59-1 (4w), Abrar 4-0-44-1, Saud 2-0-25-0, Usman 4-0-50-1, Saqib 2-0-22-0

QUETTA GLADIATORS:

Shamyl Hussain c Babar b Bracewell 21

Saud Shakeel c (sub) b Basit 12

Rilee Rossouw c Bracewell b Basit 0

Hasan Nawaz c Haris b Ali 5

Dinesh Chandimal c Farhan b Sufiyan 19

Bevon Jacobs c Iftikhar b Basit 34

Jahandad Khan c Mendis b Hardie 3

Saqib Khan c Haris b Hardie 4

Alzarri Joseph not out 19

Abrar Ahmed c Mendis b Ali 1

Usman Tariq c Farhan b Ali 7

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-5, W-3) 12

TOTAL (all out, 18.1 overs) 137

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-22 (Saud), 2-22 (Rossouw), 3-36 (Hasan), 4-44 (Shamyl), 5-73 (Chandimal), 6-78 (Jahandad), 7-82 (Saqib), 8-120 (Jacobs), 9-123 (Abrar)

BOWLING: Iftikhar 3-0-24-0, Basit 4-0-26-3 (2w), Ali 3.1-0-9-3, Bracewell 2-0-24-1 (1w), Sufiyan 4-0-34-1, Hardie 2-0-11-2

RESULT: Peshawar Zalmi won by 118 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Babar Azam

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2026