Pakistan’s all-format captain was opening the batting in the second match of the tournament. He was traded by Karachi Kings after they finished bottom of last year’s competition – the first team to lose nine matches in a PSL season – and was announced as Peshawar Zalmi’s captain in place of Wahab Riaz.

Playing against his former side, Babar lost the toss and was put into bat at the National Stadium in Karachi. He found himself facing up against Amir in the opening over of the contest.

Ahead of the clash, Amir had made headlines after speaking to local media, stating: “My job is to take wickets and win matches for my team, so for me, facing Babar or a tailender batting at number 10 will be the same.”

After he was hit for four by Mohammad Haris off his first ball of the match, Amir found himself up against his former Karachi and international captain. Babar worked his first ball from Amir away off a good length, getting off strike with a single.

Back on strike for the penultimate ball of the over, Babar unfurled a glorious shot to bring up his first boundary for his new side. With Amir bowling around the wicket and angling across the right-hander, Babar barely moved his feet to execute the glorious shot. Picking the gap between the fielders on the off side and taking advantage of the width, the ball raced to the boundary for four.

Amir looked less than amused after the shot, which contributed to the 11 runs he conceded in his opening over. Walking back to his mark, he made a frustrated-looking exclamation to one of his teammates.

Babar continued to put on an impressive display, bringing up his fifty off 39-balls before smashing Andrew Tye for three consecutive boundaries. He was finally dismissed by Imran Tahir for 68 off 46 deliveries.

Watch Babar Azam carves glorious cover drive off Mohammad Amir below

Babar Azam’s second ball as a Peshawar Zalmi player was the Pakistan captain at his absolute best.#PSL2023 pic.twitter.com/2ab8I4TYrE

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 14, 2023