Babar Azam's search for a Test hundred remains unresolved after two more low scores in the second Test against England at Lord's, extending his wait for a century to 36 innings since December 2022.
In Pakistan's first innings, Babar was dismissed for 8 off just 10 balls, edging a length delivery from Josh Tongue to Jordan Cox at third slip. Pakistan were bowled out for 110, handing England a first-innings lead of 180 runs. In the second innings, chasing a target of 389, Babar fell early again, for 6, caught by Jordan Cox off Jofra Archer as the ball climbed awkwardly off a short-of-length delivery.
Both dismissals followed a familiar pattern: bowlers targeting Babar's known vulnerability to deliveries outside the off stump. Since his last Test century — an unbeaten 161 against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022 — Babar has played 17 Tests and 36 innings without reaching three figures, a slump that has pulled his career Test average down from close to 50 to 43.03.
He has come close on several occasions during the drought, including an 88 against West Indies in Port of Spain, where he was run out 12 runs short of the milestone, and an 81 against South Africa in Cape Town.
The repeated failures have drawn criticism of both Babar's technique and the coaching support around him. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf said the batting flaws exposed in recent series, from Bangladesh to England, should have been corrected years ago, and blamed past coaching setups for not addressing them. Pakistan's overseas form has compounded the pressure, with the side losing nine of their last ten Test matches away from home.
Pakistan face an uphill task to save the Lord's Test, with England firmly in control of the match. Babar's next opportunity to end the drought will come in Pakistan's remaining fixtures of the tour.
