Babar Azam the new 'King', breaks Virat Kohli's record

Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam continued his form in the white-ball format as he smashed a match-winning hundred against West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series. Chasing 306 runs, he played this sensational knock of 103 runs off 107 balls. All though, he got the support of Imam-ul-Haq (65 runs off 71 balls) and Mohammad Rizwan 59 runs off 61 balls).

Till now, Babar played 85 One Day International innings where he scored 4364 runs at an average of 59.84. It also included 17 centuries along with 18 50+ scores. After this innings, Babar scored more than 1000 runs in just 13 innings, surpassing the previous best of 17 innings set by former India skipper Virat Kohli. Pakistan Cricket Board also shared this moment on their official Instagram account. Here is the post:

 

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Babar Azam is the fastest to reach 1000 runs as the captain

In these last 13 matches, he played seven matches at home tracks. However, he managed to surpass some great names like Virat Kohli (17 innings) and AB de Villiers (18 innings). Before this match, he was just behind 98 runs off the 1000 mark.

Speaking about the match, West Indies won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a competitive total of 305 runs, courtesy of a hundred from Shai Hope (127 runs off 134 balls) and a contribution from Shamarh Brooks (70 runs off 83 balls). Pakistan’s Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowler as he picked up four crucial wickets. However, their bowlers did not perform at their level best and failed to defend.

In reply, Pakistan’s skipper was the main architect of that chase by scoring that magical ton. Wicket-keeper batter Rizwan and opener, Imam ul Haq supported him with their half-centuries. At the business end of that chase, Khushdil shah’s quick innings of 41* runs off 23 balls sealed the deal for the home side. Now, Pakistan will look to extend their lead in the second match on the same ground on 10 June 2022.