Half-centurion Babar Azam scripts this record in 1st NZ ODI
What's the story
Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam made his bat talk in the first ODI against New Zealand on March 29.
With this performance of 78 off 83 balls, Babar became the third-highest run-scorer for Pakistan against New Zealand in ODIs.
However, Pakistan lost the match by 73 runs, having failed to chase down 345 in Napier.
Here we look at Babar's stats.
Match details
Babar Azam's impressive performance
Babar's recent match against New Zealand also marked his 36th ODI half-century.
He played a crucial inning of 78 runs in this game, facing a total of 83 balls.
His performance included hitting five fours and three sixes, further solidifying his position as one of the top players in ODI cricket.
However, his efforts went in vain as Pakistan went from 249/3 to 271 all-out.
Record
Babar surpasses Shahid Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and Saleem Malik
Babar overtook legends like Shahid Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and Saleem Malik in terms of ODI runs scored for Pakistan vs NZ.
Meanwhile, Babar now stands third with 1,087 runs in 24 matches.
He is now only behind Inzamam-ul-Haq (1,283) and Saeed Anwar (1,260).
Afridi had previously held the third place with 1,078 runs from 38 matches.
Stats
Babar races to 6,184 ODI runs
With his 36th ODI half-century, the batter has now raced to 6,184 runs.
Across 129 matches, he has an average of 55.71 and a strike rate of 87.99.
According to ESPNcricinfo, he also owns 19 tons in 126 innings, while 2,569 of his runs have come in 58 away matches.
As mentioned, 1,087 of his runs have come against NZ at 49.40 (100s: 2, 50s: 10).
Rankings
Babar ranks 3rd in ODI batting average
Apart from his latest record, Babar Azam also stands third in batting average among players with more than 50 ODIs.
He stands ahead of legendary batsmen like AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Kane Williamson and Hashim Amla.
Babar is now only behind Indians Shubman Gill (59.04) and Virat Kohli (57.88).
This only further solidifies his position as one of the torchbearers of modern-day cricket.
Knock
Salman Agha's fiery knock goes in vain
Chasing 345, Pakistan were 164/3 when Babar was joined by Salman Agha. The latter made a quickfire 58 off 48 balls, including five fours and two sixes.
Notably, he also managed an 85-run partnership with Babar for the fourth wicket. He was dismissed in the 44th over by Jacob Duffy.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Agha now owns 1,034 ODI runs at 44.95 across just 29 innings, including one ton and six fifties.