Babar Azam slams successive ODI fifties against Afghanistan: Key stats
What's the story
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam scored an important half-century in the third and final ODI against Afghanistan in Colombo.
The right-handed showcased application on a spin-friendly track and ended up scoring 60 off 86 balls. He smashed four boundaries and a solitary maximum.
Notably, the star batter scored a fifty (53) in the preceding game as well.
Here we look at his stats.
Knock
A captain's knock from Babar
After a 36-run opening stand, Pakistan lost both their openers in quick intervals.
However, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan (67) led Pakistan's fight back with a 110-run partnership for the third wicket.
While the former was cautious in his approach, he scored at a better rate after getting settled on the challenging track.
Babar eventually fell prey to Rashid Khan in the 37th over.
Stats
28th ODI fifty for Babar
This was Babar's 28th half-century in ODIs as he has now raced to 5,202 runs in 103 games at an average of 58.44.
The tally includes 18 fifties as well with 158 being his highest score. His strike rate in the format reads 88.81.
Versus the Afghans, he now has 224 runs from five games at 44.80. He smashed his third fifty.
Stats
Highest average in ODI cricket
Notably, Babar's average of 58.44 is the highest among batters with at least 2,000 runs in the format.
While India's Virat Kohli (57.32) trails him, no other batter has an average of 54 or more in this regard.
Imam-ul-Haq (51.50) is the only other Pakistan batter with a 50-plus average in this category.