It was a great day at the office for Pakistani captain Babar Azam as he guided his team to a massive win in the Asia Cup opener courtesy of a marathon 151-run innings against Nepal when Pakistan was in a bit of trouble having lost four wickets for 124 runs.
The right-handed batter stitched crucial partnerships with Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmad ensuring that Pakistan avoided an upset in the very first match of the tournament that too on its home soil where the tournament returned after 15 years.
Babar also broke the record for the fewest innings taken to complete 19 ODI centuries as he completed his 19th century in 102 innings overtaking South African batter Hashim Amla who reached the milestone in 104 innings.
The Fastest Man
Babar Azam eclipsed some big names in modern cricket after scoring his 19th ODI ton which included the likes of Virat Kohli who scored his 19th century in 124 innings along with David Warner who took 139 innings to reach the mark of 19 centuries while AB de Villers got there in 171 innings.
Many people have trolled Babar for his slow batting in the recent past and have said that he is not a T20 player. The batter answered his critics in style after completing his historic century, Babar continued his batting onslaught in the 50-over contest. The premier batter smoked a one-handed six off Gulsan Jha in the 43rd over.
The Babar Azam Show
The Pakistani captain changed gears after the 33rd over of the innings and started taking on Nepal’s bowler as he along with the other centurion Iftikhar Ahmad added more than 200 runs for the fifth wicket while scoring more than 100 runs in the last ten overs which took Pakistan to a match-winning total of 342-6. The duo started cautiously as Pakistan lost four wickets in quick succession and were in a bit of trouble. This is Babar’s second-highest score in ODI cricket
