Babar Azam, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi, gifted him an MG car after his 11T20 ton. MG, also known as Morris Garages, is a British automobile brand founded in 1920. Javed Afridi, the franchise owner, gifted Babar a stylish four-wheeler.
Babar Azam’s ton propelled Peshawar to 201/5 in their 20 overs in Lahore. Saim Ayub (38) added a 77-run opening stand with Babar. The lower order contributed some runs which helped them cross 200. Babar hit 14 fours and two sixes in his 63-ball knock at a strike rate of 176.19.
Islamabad United in reply reached 193/9 and fell short by just 8 runs. Colin Munro (71) and Azam Khan (75) were the top run-getters and Alex Hales was unavailable due to personal reasons. Peshawar Zalmi’s leg-break bowler Arif Yaqoob took 5/27 and played an important role in his team’s victory.
Babar Azam’s batting masterclass took place in front of his mother, who came to watch her son play. Babar, named Man of the Match, said he came to watch the match for the first time.
“She came for the first time (talking about her mother). Very happy. She always watches from home. Good luck to me because she came and I got a hundred. This is my best. Saim and I realized that the pitch was good, so we went for 200. But then we lost 3 wickets.”
“Paul has a little hamstring problem so he was off the field. Azam came out, so I took a chance on Yaqoob. All credit to him, he didn’t panic, he believed in his bowling. They were not up to par in the first two games. I hope to build on the momentum now,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi’s tweet about Babar Azam
Meanwhile, taking to his handle X, Afridi shared the exciting news and said, “MG GIFT FOR BABAR AZAM. HE WILL BE THE FIRST TO DRIVE MG ESSENCE. MADE IN PAKISTAN.”
MG GIFT FOR BABAR AZAM. @babarazam258 WILL BE THE FIRST TO DRIVE MG ESSENCE. MADE IN PAKISTAN #HBLPSL۹ @MGPakistan pic.twitter.com/IFo3hK8HSb
– Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) February 26, 2024
The two teams have played 23 matches in the PSL, with Islamabad United winning 10 games and Peshawar Zalmi 12. The recent match was Peshawar’s 12th victory over Islamabad. Babar joined the franchise last season and managed to take them to the last 16. Also this season he will try to lead the team to the final.
Talking about Babar Azam, there are reports that he is likely to be re-appointed captain of Pakistan. Reputed Pakistani journalist Qadir Khawaja revealed that Babar Azam is likely to return as captain of Pakistan after the appointment of the new president of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Mohsin Naqvi was appointed as the new PCB president after Zaka Ashraf resigned recently.
“I asked Babar Azam to continue as captain in Test cricket, but he told me that he would talk to his family members before taking any decision. However, he went to his manager, who told him to give up captaincy in all formats,” Zaka Ashraf had said before resigning.
Since Babar Azam resigned from the captaincy, Pakistan has lost a Test series against Australia in Australia and a T20I series against New Zealand in New Zealand.