‘Cometh the hour, cometh the Man’ – Babar Azam showed the World why he is one of the best batsmen in recent times. The Pakistani skipper slammed a stunning 151-run knock against Nepal in the opening game of Asia Cup 2023. Alongside his magnificent century, Babar Azam also broke a series of records both for himself as well as for Pakistan.
Coming to bat in the 7th over after Pakistan lost both their openers, Azam and Mohammad Rizwan steadily built the innings. After the latter’s dismissal, Iftikhar Ahmed accompanied his skipper and the duo stitched a 214-run stand to help the hosts put up a massive total of 342 runs on the board.
Fastest to 19th ODI Ton
It was just a matter of time before Babar Azam changed gears in the game. Following his dropped catch on 55, Azam took to the Nepali bowlers for a toss and raced towards his hundred. He did however slow down once he reached his 90s and then patiently waited for the three-digit score.
He equaled Brian Lara, David Warner and Mahela Jayawardene with 19 ODI centuries. But what is even more interesting is the number of innings that he took to reach the landmark. He took just 102 innings while Virat Kohli managed to reach his 19th ODI ton in 124 innings.
Babar Azam – 102 inns
Hashim Amla – 104 inns
Virat Kohli – 124 inns
AB de Villiers – 171 inn
In-form Babar Azam sends warning to India with stunning century ahead of IND vs PAK clash
Highest Score by a skipper in Asia Cup
Babar Azam’s 151-run knock might not be his highest ODI score, but it surely is the highest score managed by a captain in Asia Cup. Babar Azam reached 151 runs in just 131 balls in a fiery innings that consisted of 14 fours and 4 huge sixes. Babar surpassed Virat Kohli’s record of 136 runs.
His 151-run knock is also the second-highest score registered by a Pakistani skipper in ODIs. Babar himself holds the feat for the highest score by a Pak skipper in ODIs when he managed 158 against England in 2021.
Pakistan’s highest 5th wicket stand
Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed put up a stunning fifth wicket stand where the duo amassed 214 runs. This is a record for the Pakistan team in 50-over cricket. While David Miller and JP Duminy hold the World record of 256 runs against Zimbabwe, Babar & Iftikhar’s knock is no less stellar.
Highest partnerships in Asia Cup (ODIs) for any wicket:
224 – Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed (PAK) vs IND, Mirpur, 2012
223 -Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan (PAK) vs Hong Kong, Colombo (SSC), 2004
214 – Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed (PAK) vs Nepal, Multan, 2003
213 – Virat Kohli, AM Rahane (IND) vs BAN, Fatullah, 2014
210 – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (IND) vs PAK, Dubai, 2018
Highest partnerships for 4th wicket or below for Pakistan in ODIs:
214 – Babar Azam & Iftikhar Ahmed vs NEP, Multan, 2023
206 – Mohammad Yousuf & Shoaib Malik vs IND, Centurion, 2009
198* – Misbah-ul-Haq & Kamran Akmal vs AUS, Abu Dhabi, 2009
176 – Younis Khan & Umar Akmal vs SL, Colombo (RPS), 2009
172 – Saleem Malik & Basil Ali vs WI, Sharjah, 1993
Babar surpassed Gautam Gambhir & Damien Martin in ODI runs
The stunning 151-run knock by Babar Azam helped him leapfrog 2 great batters of the game. He has now gone past Gautam Gambhir and Damien Martin in most runs for ODIs. In just 104 matches and 102 innings, Babar has now amassed 5353 in ODIs.
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