Babar Azam’s long wait for a half-century in the England tour finally ended on day three of the third Test at Edgbaston. The Pakistan captain scored a composed 76 which was also his first fifty of the tour and batted
well in an otherwise difficult tour. Before this knock, his returns in the series made for a poor reading. He managed just 8 and 6 in the two innings at Lord’s and fell for 7 in the first innings at Edgbaston. After three successive single-digit scores he was averaging seven for the series before this innings. The right hand batter has not scored a Test century since December 2022 against New Zealand, a patch now stretching nearly four years.
34th Test Fifty for BABAR AZAM 👑💖
– Babar Azam 7th Test Fifty Against England🔥
– Dream For Shubman gill to score 50 against England 🥶 https://t.co/aFUChiinYf— Usman (@Usman_56Offical) September 11, 2026
Since the start of 2023, his Test average has slipped a lot. Across his career, Babar still has nine Test hundreds and more than 30 half-centuries. He has frequently converted starts into fifties, yet the conversion to three figures has dried up in recent seasons. In 2025 and 2026, he continued to register the occasional fifty, but he has not been consistent against high-quality pace attacks, especially in overseas conditions. At Edgbaston, he scored 76 off 103 balls including 11 fours and a six. His fifty itself came off 76 deliveries and he was dismissed by Josh Tongue and could not get to the three-figure mark once again.
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Pakistan Fightback on Day 3 as Shan Masood scores 95
On day three, Pakistan finally showed fight. Opener Azan Awais scored 59 and Shan Masood scored 95 as the duo batted for plenty of time and put up a 100 run partnership to lead the fightback for Pakistan. Azan fell to Dan Lawrence and the key moment arrived when Babar came to the crease. He played with greater fluency and intent, reaching his fifty and eventually scored a determined 76 off 103 balls (11 fours and a six). It was his first half-century of the series and a rare positive note in an otherwise one-sided contest. Partnerships with Masood and later Saud Shakeel pushed Pakistan past 200 for the first time on the tour and steadily reduced the deficit.
The fightback was the only silver lining for Pakistan in this otherwise tough tour. England’s pace attack, led by Josh Tongue eventually dismissed Babar with a short ball and kept chipping away with wickets after lunch. By the time Babar fell for 76, Pakistan were still behind and five down. England’s first-innings total of 453, built on solid contributions throughout the order, left the visitors trailing by 320 runs. The tourists had closed the gap significantly but are still behind in the Test match and England will look to wrap things up and win the series 3-0 on Day 3.
