Watch: Babar Azam unleashed a trademark drive through the covers, on his way to a boundary-filled 24-ball 41 for Colombo Strikers in their Lanka Premier League 2023 match against Dambulla Aura at Pallekele.

Chasing 193, Babar opened the innings with skipper Niroshan Dickwella and got the Strikers off to a flying start. He hit seven boundaries in all, and finished with a strike rate of 170.83.

In the third over, he unfurled a picture perfect cover drive, crunching a Pramod Madushan delivery past the infield in delectable fashion. It only got better: against his Pakistan teammate Hassan Ali, he hit three fours in four balls. The Strikers raced to 61-1 in the powerplay.

Once on 28 off 12, he slowed down a tad thereafter, managing 13 off the next 12 balls. Against Noor Ahmad, he was first troubled by a googly, the ball carrying an edge for four, before being trapped in front by the young left-arm spinner. The wicket brought Aura back into the game, with the required run-rate going up after Babar departed.

At the time of writing, the Strikers needed 70 off the last five overs.

Watch Babar Azam’s cover drive here:

 

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