Babar Azam clocks his maiden ODI fifty against India: Stats
Babar Azam returned to form with a fine fifty in the ICC Cricket World Cup against India in Ahmedabad. This was Babar's 29th ODI fifty and his maiden against India in this format. After a couple of poor scores against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, the Pakistan captain roared back with a 58-ball 50. Pakistan were 155/3 in 29.4 overs when Babar departed.
A solid hand from Babar
Babar came to the crease after a decent 41-run opening stand between Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq. He added 32 runs with the latter before he departed back to the pavilion. Later, Babar stitched a crucial 82-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan. His knock was laced with seven boundaries as they took Pakistan beyond the 150-run mark. Mohammad Siraj knocked him over in the 30th over.
Maiden ODI fifty against India
Babar has faced India in eight ODI matches and has amassed 218 runs at an average of 31.14. Notably, this is his first 50-plus score against India in this format. His strike rate also falls to 75.17 against the Indians (lowest). This is only his second international 50-plus score against India. He has previously scored an unbeaten 68 against them in T20Is.
Babar races past 500 runs in ODI World Cup
Courtesy of this knock, Babar has raced past 500 runs in ODI World Cups. He has tallied 539 runs in 11 World Cup matches an impressive average of 53.90. This was his fourth World Cup fifty. He also owns a century. He is the 11th Pakistani batter to complete 500 runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
A look at Babar's ODI form this year
Babar has returned with 810 runs from 19 ODI matches at an average of 45 in 2023. This was his seventh fifty and he has compiled two centuries. He is Pakistan's second-highest run-getter in ODIs this year. Only Rizwan with 876 ODI runs in 2023 has scored more than him. No other Pakistani batter has touched the 800-run mark in ODIs this year.
A look at Babar's ODI numbers
Playing his 111th ODI match, Babar has accumulated 5,474 runs at an impressive average of 57.02. Besides 29 fifties, he has hammered 19 centuries. He has maintained an ODI strike rate of 88.86. Notably, he has the best ODI average among Pakistani batters with at least 2,000 runs in this format. As per ESPNcricinfo, Babar owns 2,821 runs in Asia at 60.02 (16th fifty).
