Babar Azam finishes as highest run-getter in Tests (2022): Stats
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam churned out runs from every nook and corner in Tests in 2022. He continued his red-hot form in the first of two-match series against New Zealand, bashing his ninth Test ton. He has also gone past 3,500 Test runs, besides winding up as the highest run-getter in the format in 2022. We decode his numbers.
Leading run-scorer in Tests (2022)
Babar stacked up 1,184 runs in just nine Test matches. He averaged a mouth-dropping 69.64. He clocked four tons and seven fifties. His last six knocks read 14, 161, 54, 78, 1, and 75. England's Joe Root (1,098) and Aussie opener Usman Khawaja (1,080) compiled the second and third-most runs in Tests this year, respectively.
Why does this story matter?
2022 served Babar well as a batter in the purest format. The Pakistani run machine upped his game, thereby breaking his previous best of 616 Test runs in a year (2018 and 2019 each). He led Pakistan's fightback on numerous occasions, starting from the home series against Australia in March. Babar's blade did the talking as he broke a barrage of records.
Notable records scripted by Babar
Babar broke the record for most runs by a Pakistani batter in a calendar year. He aggregated 2,598 runs across formats in international cricket, surpassing Mohammad Yousuf's tally of 2,435 runs in 2006. Babar struck 25 fifty-plus scores in international cricket this year, breaking the record of former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting (24 in 2005).
Babar moves up among the top scorers in WTC 2021-23
Babar ranks second among the leading run-getters in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. He has amassed 1,476 runs at 64.17 (100s: 4). He has also notched 10 fifties, most by a batter in the 2021-23 cycle. Babar only ranks behind Root (1,915). Babar eyes a solid finish in the second Test against New Zealand, given Pakistan are underway in their final series.
1,000-plus runs at home (Tests)
Babar has driven past 1,000 runs at home in the purest format. He now has 1,440 runs across 12 Tests at home. He averages a sensational 75.78 (100s: 6, 50s: 7). Babar has gone past former Pakistan wicket-keeper Moin Khan's tally in this regard (1,427). Notably, Babar has scored 913 runs at home in 2022, averaging 70.23 (100s: 3, 50s: 5).
Eighth-highest Test score at National Stadium
Babar's 196(425) is the eighth-highest score by a batter in Tests played at National Stadium in Karachi, ranking behind New Zealand ace Kane Williamson's double ton. Babar beat Zaheer Abbas' 186. Meanwhile, Pakistan's all-time run-getter in Tests, Younis Khan, holds the highest score (313).
A look at his incredible Test career
Babar made his Test debut against West Indies in 2016. He has since amassed 3,645 runs across 46 matches, averaging a laud-worthy 49.25. He has slammed nine hundreds and 26 fifties (HS: 196 vs Australia). Babar has compiled 1,440 runs at home. He has managed 1,678 and 527 runs at away and neutral venues, averaging 39.95 and 40.53, respectively.
