RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN:
Star national batter Babar Azam has achieved multiple historic milestones with his exceptional century against Sri Lanka in the second One Day International (ODI). The innings not only brought an end to a long drought but also cemented his place in Pakistani cricket history alongside the legendary opener Saeed Anwar.
In the match played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Babar Azam scored his 20th ODI century, thereby equaling Saeed Anwar’s national record for the most ODI centuries. Azam achieved this feat in just 135 innings, highlighting his rapid ascent compared to Saeed Anwar, who reached the same landmark in 244 innings.
Comparative Performance Analysis:
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Babar Azam: 20 centuries and 37 half-centuries in 135 innings, dismissed for zero runs only 5 times.
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Saeed Anwar: 20 centuries and 43 half-centuries in 244 innings, dismissed for zero runs 15 times.
Global and Regional Records: By scoring his 20th century, Babar Azam now ranks as the third-fastest player in the world to reach this milestone in ODI history. He is preceded only by South Africa’s Hashim Amla (108 innings) and India’s Virat Kohli (133 innings).
Furthermore, this century allowed Azam to surpass Imran Khan’s record of 636 runs against Sri Lanka in ODIs, bringing his total against the team to 666 runs.
Home Ground Consistency: Babar Azam continues to demonstrate remarkable consistency in Pakistani venues. He is now only 21 runs shy of scoring 5,000 runs on his home ground, a milestone that would make him the fourth Pakistani batter to achieve this feat, joining the ranks of Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf.
