It was a grateful Babar Azam that appeared at the press conference as Friday night yielded to Saturday morning. Much of that gratitude was reserved for his supporters - and there is a legion in Pakistan . A large chunk had braved the bitter cold of the Rawalpindi night waiting to watch him tick off the final few runs to get to his 20th ODI hundred, one that they have waited over 800 days and 83 innings for, and one that ties him with Saeed Anwar at the top of the ODI hundreds list for Pakistan.

"The amount of support I got from my fans, not just in Islamabad but everywhere, was great," Babar said after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to clinch the series. "I got support everywhere in Pakistan and it gave me a huge boost. The fans, they never deserted me in my hard times. It's in those hard

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