Pakistan skipper Babar Azam notched up his 19th ODI century during the opening match of the Asia Cup against Nepal in Multan. He came in at No 3 after Pakistan lost opener Fakhar Zaman with 21 runs on the board. Off the first delivery, Babar hit a boundary. He steadied the innings after a shaky start, after Pakistan were reduced to 25/2 following the dismissal of Imam-ul-Haq.
In partnership with Mohammad Rizwan, Babar took Pakistan’s total to 111. He continued undeterred even as Rizwan and all-rounder Agha Salman fell quickly. Babar’s century was achieved in the 42nd over, from 109 balls. He stopped at 151, which came off 131 balls.
Iftikhar Ahmed took charge towards the end and guided the team to a giant total of 342. His unbeaten 109 came off 71 balls. It was his maiden ODI century.
Babar’s remarkable average of over 59 sets him apart as the highest among batters with a minimum of 2,000 runs in the ODI format. Notably, Virat Kohli trails him with an average of 57.32, while no other batter boasts an average of 54 or more in this format. Babar’s 19 ODI hundreds is second only to Saeed Anwar’s 20 for Pakistan.