Babar Azam was visibly furious when teammate Steve Smith denied a single during a BBL match against the Sydney Thunder at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

The friction unfolded during the Sixers’ innings in the 11th over. Babar, batting on 47, hit the ball toward long-on to take a run. However, Smith refused the single, leaving Babar confused in the middle of the pitch.

In the next over, the Australian justified his decision by hitting 32 runs - the highest score in a single over in BBL history.

Speaking to Channel 7, Smith explained this strategy:

“We spoke at the 10-over mark and they said ‘take the surge straight away’ and I was like ‘nah give it one over, I want to hit the short boundary. I looked to try and get 30 off that over and I think we got 32, so a good result. I don’t think Babar was too happy with me knocking back that single though.”

Babar returned to the strike in the next over but was dismissed for 47, playing an inside edge onto his stumps off Nathan McAndrew. He left the field visibly frustrated, hitting the bat against the boundary rope.

Despite the tension, the Sydney Sixers secured a five-wicket victory, chasing 190 in just 17.2 overs.