Decoding the stats of Babar Azam in ODIs
Pakistani skipper Babar Azam is often lauded as one of the best cricketers in the world at present. Babar recently slammed his 16th ton in ODIs. He now ranks second only to former batting legend Saeed Anwar (20) among the Pakistani batters with the most hundreds in ODIs. He has had a sensational start to the year 2022. Here we decode his numbers.
Why does this story matter?
Babar has been one of the consistent and bankable batters since his arrival in ODIs. He was a member of Pakistan's winning team in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. He had smashed a match-winning 46 off 52 deliveries against India in the final. Since then, his appetite for runs has only been on a high. Babar deserves every bit of appreciation that he garners.
Babar starts 2022 with a bang!
His ever-continuing thirst for runs got him back-to-back hundreds in the ODI series against Australia. He struck an 83-ball 114 in the second ODI to level the series 1-1. He followed with a 105* off 115 deliveries in the series decider. Babar (276) finished second only to Imam-ul-Haq (298) in terms of most runs acquired in the series. He averaged a jaw-dropping 138.00.
Babar has toyed with Australia
Babar has amassed 588 runs in 9 innings against the Aussies. He averages 73.50. He has amassed three hundreds and two fifties. His last five scores against Australia read 105*, 114, 57, 30, and 100. He ranks 11th in the list of Pakistani batters with the most runs against Australia. Notably, he has surpassed the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq (426) and Abdul Razzaq (538).
Babar slams these feats in 2022
Babar cracked a 72-ball 57 to race past the 4,000-runs mark in ODIs in the opening match of the series. Babar (82) became the second-fastest to have reached the milestone of 4,000 runs in the 50-overs. Former SA batter Hashim Amla had attained the feat in 81 innings. Notably, Babar bettered Viv Richards' tally (88) in this regard.
Captaincy has brought the best in Babar
As a skipper, Babar averages a monstrous 90.20 across 12 innings. He has 902 runs while striking at 104.64. He has pinned down five hundreds and three fifties, with the best score of 158.
Babar's ODI career in numbers
To date, Babar has made 86 appearances in ODIs. He has hoarded 4,261 runs at a laud-worthy average of 59.18. He has a strike rate of 90.29. He has bashed 16 hundreds and 18 fifties. Babar ranks 15th in the list of leading run-scorers for Pakistan in ODIs. Misbah-ul-Haq (5,122) and Aamer Sohail (4,780) rank above Babar at 13th and 14th spots respectively.
