Peshawar Zalmi opening batter Saim Ayub and captain Babar Azam joined hands to put together the second-highest partnership in the history of the Pakistan Super League at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium last night.
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Also the second-highest opening partnership in the eight seasons of competition till now, Ayub and Azam registered an 81-ball 162-run stand before the former played a shot too many to get out in the 14th over. A slightly dominant partner between the two, Ayub scored 74 (34) with the help of six fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 217.64 in a partnership where the batters batted at a strike rate of 200.
Azam, meanwhile, scored his maiden century in the PSL to become the 13th cricketer to score a century in the tournament. Having said that, the 29-year old player still faced severe criticism for his eventual strike rate of 176.92 in an ultra high-scoring match which witnessed Quetta Gladiators registering the highest successful run-chase in the PSL.
Azam, who responded to critics in a sarcastic manner during the post-match press conference, is the only batter to feature as many as four times among the Top 10 PSL highest partnerships. Sharjeel Khan, Azam’s teammate at Karachi Kings until last season, is next on the list with three entries among the Top 10 highest partnerships in PSL.
As a result, it isn’t surprising as to why three out of the Top 10 partnerships have been achieved by players representing Kings. While Karachi and Quetta have been at the receiving end of top PSL partnerships twice each, defending champions Lahore Qalandars are at the top of the list on the back of conceding three such partnerships.
Highest partnership in PSL history for all wickets (table updated on March 11, 2023)
| S. No. | Batters | Runs | Wicket | Team | Opposition | Ground | Year |
| 1 | Sharjeel Khan & Babar Azam | 176 | 1st | Karachi Kings | Islamabad United | Karachi | 2021 |
| 2 | Saim Ayub & Babar Azam | 162 | 1st | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | Rawalpindi | 2023 |
| 3 | Liam Livingstone & Babar Azam | 157 | 1st | Karachi Kings | Multan Sultans | Dubai | 2019 |
| 4 | Usman Khan & Mohammad Rizwan | 157 | 1st | Multan Sultans | Quetta Gladiators | Rawalpindi | 2023 |
| 5 | Ben Dunk & Smit Patel | 155 | 4th | Lahore Qalandars | Quetta Gladiators | Lahore | 2020 |
| 6 | Ahsan Ali & Will Smeed | 155 | 1st | Quetta Gladiators | Peshawar Zalmi | Karachi | 2022 |
| 7 | Shane Watson & Sharjeel Khan | 153 | 1st | Islamabad United | Lahore Qalandars | Sharjah | 2016 |
| 8 | Sharjeel Khan & Babar Azam | 151* | 1st | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | Karachi | 2020 |
| 9 | Colin Munro & Iftikhar Ahmed | 150* | 3rd | Islamabad United | Karachi Kings | Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| 10 | Shan Masood & Mohammad Rizwan | 150 | 1st | Multan Sultans | Lahore Qalandars | Karachi | 2022 |
