Babar Azam rewrites record books with third T20I century: Stats
Babar Azam on Saturday (April 15) scripted history by slamming his third T20I hundred. The star batter accomplished the milestone in the second T20I versus New Zealand which Pakistan won by 38 runs. Babar smoked an unbeaten 101 off 58 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and three maximums. He shattered many records during his knock. Here are his stats.
A power-packed knock from Babar
Babar, who could only manage nine in the series opener, went after the bowlers from the outset and played some delightful shots in the powerplay overs. He and Mohammad Rizwan (50) added 99 runs for the opening wicket. Babar shifted gears even further in the slog overs and reached his ton with a couple of fours in the final two deliveries of the innings.
Third T20I ton for Babar
Babar became only the sixth batter to complete three T20I tons. Czech Republic's Sabawoon Davizi, India's Suryakumar Yadav, New Zealand's Colin Munro, and Australia's Glenn Maxwell are the others with three T20I hundreds. Only India's Rohit Sharma (4) owns more centuries. The fourth-highest run-getter in T20Is, Babar has now raced to 3,465 runs in 101 games at 42.25 (SR: 128.81).
Second-most fifty-plus scores
Besides three tons, Babar also has 30 T20I fifties under his belt. He equaled Rohit in terms of second-most fifty-plus scores in T20Is (33). Rohit's compatriot Virat Kohli leads the list with 38 such scores.
Ninth T20 century for Babar
This was overall Babar's ninth ton in T20 cricket. Only Chris Gayle (22) boasts more centuries in the format. He went past the Australian trio of Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Michael Klinger, who own eight T20 tons apiece. Overall, the Pakistan skipper has raced to 9,181 runs in 257 T20s at 44.35, striking at 128.83. He also has 76 fifties besides nine centuries.
Second-most runs versus NZ
Babar has now smoked 522 runs against NZ in 13 T20Is at 52.20. The tally includes four fifties and a solitary ton. Notably, only Babar's former Pakistan teammate Mohammad Hafeez (563) has more T20I runs against the Kiwis.
How did the game pan out?
Electing to bat first at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan posted 192/4 in their 20 overs. Besides Babar, Rizwan (50) and Iftikhar Ahmed (33*) made key contributions. In reply, the Kiwis never really got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Though Mark Chapman (65*) put up a good fight, NZ were restricted to 154/7. Haris Rauf claimed 4/27.
