Decoding Babar Azam's terrific run in limited-overs cricket
Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month Award for April. Babar was in terrific form in both ODIs and T20Is and helped side side win three successive series. Babar, who is ranked number one in the ICC ODI Rankings for Batsmen, has been a tremendous force in limited-overs cricket. We decode his numbers.
Babar's performance in ODIs and T20Is
In 78 ODI innings, Babar has racked up 3,808 runs at an average of 56.83. He has 17 hundreds and 13 fifties, with a best of 125*. In 52 T20I innings, the right-handed batsman has amassed 2,035 runs at an average of 47.32. He has one century and 18 fifties with a best of 122.
Babar enjoyed dream form in April
Babar played three ODIs against South Africa, amassing 228 runs at a strike rate of 104. He hit 103, 31, and 94. In the four-match T20I series against SA, he scored 14, 50, 122, and 24. Against Zimbabwe, he got scores of 2, 42, 51, and 0. In total, he amassed 305 runs at 43.75 with a strike rate of 126.55 in T20Is.
Notable records held by Babar in ODI cricket
Babar is the 15th-highest run-scorer for Pakistan in ODI cricket. Notably, he is the only Pakistani batsman with a 50-plus ODI average (minimum 2,000-plus runs). He is also the third-highest centurion for Pakistan (13). Babar is the third-fastest to 3,000 ODI runs (68 innings). He is also the joint-second fastest to 2,000 ODI runs (45 innings).
Records held by Babar in T20Is
Babar is the fastest to 2,000 T20I runs (52 innings). He achieved the feat against Zimbabwe last month, breaking the record of Virat Kohli (56 innings). He is also the second-fastest to 1,000 T20I runs (26 innings). Babar is the third-highest run-scorer for Pakistan in T20Is. He is only the third Pakistani batsman with 2,000-plus T20I runs. He has the highest average (50-plus matches).
Babar tops the ICC ODI Rankings, third in T20Is
Babar's performances against South Africa last month helped him move ahead of Virat Kohli as the No.1-ranked ODI batsman. He also became just the fourth Pakistan player to do so after Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, and Mohammad Yousuf. He has 865 rating points in ODIs. Babar is also ranked third in the ICC T20I Rankings. He has 828 rating points.
