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Although he could just score 23 runs in his knock despite looking in good touch, that much was enough for Babar Azam to set a record for Pakistan with the bat.
Babar Azam Goes Past Saeed Anwar In Elite List, Creates Record During India Clash (Picture credit: AP)
Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam on Sunday, February 23 became the fastest from the nation to go past the 1000-run mark in ICC tournaments, breaking the record once held by Saeed Anwar.
Although he could just score 23 runs in his knock despite looking in good touch, that much was enough for Babar to set a record for Pakistan with the bat.
The milestone came up in Babar’s 24th knock in ICC’s ODI events, which means he reached the mark just one innings quicker than Anwar.
Fastest to 1000 runs in ICC ODI events for Pakistan:
Babar Azam: 24 innings
Saeed Anwar: 25 innings
Javed Miandad: 30 innings
Babar started his ICC journey for Pakistan with the 2017 Champions Trophy, which ended with the side lifting the trophy as he contributed with 133 runs in his debut event.
Babar then had a strong performance in the 2019 World Cup, one of his team’s most crucial players as he scored 474 runs in that event at a stunning average of 67.
Babar had a strong beginning to the ongoing Champions Trophy too, scoring 64 runs in the first game against New Zealand, but got criticised for the slow speed of his knock while opening in a huge chase.
On Sunday, Pakistan were forced to traverse a cautious path due to the early departure of Babar and Imam ul Haq.
Babar looked like a million dollars while playing those trademark cover drives for a few fours off Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya.
But that wish to drive brought Babar’s doom too. Pandya pulled the length back after getting driven for a boundary and his full-throttle shot took an edge on its route to KL Rahul’s safe gloves.
Imam next took off for a non-existent single and Axar Patel at mid-on just had to target the stumps, a task he successfully pulled off.
At 47/2, Pakistan had their task cut out in a high-pressure game but skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel brought some stability to their innings with composed knocks.
Indian bowlers were accurate but Pakistan managed to post a competitive 241 courtesy of Shakeel’s polished half-century and Khushdil Shah’s cameo in the Champions Trophy in Dubai.
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