PAK vs NEP: Babar Azam Shatters Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, Gautam Gambhir's Records With Phenomenal Ton In Asia Cup 2023

Pakistan National Cricket Team captain Babar Azam broke massive records of India National Cricket Team batting superstars Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir and South Africa National Cricket Team batting legend Hashim Amla following his phenomenal century in the Asia Cup 2023 opener.

In the curtain raiser of the Asia Cup 2023, Group A teams – Babar Azam-led Pakistan National Cricket Team and Rohit Paudel-led Nepal National Cricket Team – are facing off at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, August 30.

Babar Azam came to bat in the 6th over in the first innings after the dismissal of Fakhar Zaman. Soon Imam-ul-Haq also got out and Babar played a cautious knock initially in an attempt to build the innings.

He added 86 runs with wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan to bring back Pakistan’s innings on the track after losing quick wickets. However, his best came when he batted with Iftikhar Ahmed.

Iftikhar Ahmed played his attacking game and gave time to Babar Azam to play his natural game and complete a century in the match, which was his 19th ODI ton. The Pakistan captain completed 19 ODI tons in 102 innings and became the fastest to achieve the feat.

Fastest to 19 ODI Centuries

102 Inngs – Babar Azam*

104 Inngs – Hashim Amla

124 Inngs – Virat Kohli

139 Inngs – David Warner

171 Inngs – AB de Villiers

181 Inngs – Rohit Sharma

Overall, he is the second-highest century hitter for Pakistan in ODIs, only behind Saeed Anwar, who hit 20 tons in ODIs in 244 innings.

Most ODI hundreds for Pakistan:

20 Saeed Anwar (244 innings)

19 Babar Azam (102 innings)

15 Mohammad Yousuf (267 innings)

Babar Azam Breaks Virat Kohli’s Record As Captain

Babar Azam finished his innings with 151 runs off 131 balls, including 14 fours and 4 sixes, and he also stitched together an outstanding 214 runs in 131 balls with Iftikhar Ahmed to power Pakistan to a total of 342 runs. His 151 runs knock is the highest by any captain in Asia Cup history.

Highest Score in Asia Cup by Captains

151 – Babar

136 – Kohli

135* – Ganguly

131* – Ranatunga

125* – Malik

Also, Babar Azam has gone past Gautam Gambhir in the elite list of batters with the most ODI runs. The Pakistan captain has scored 5353 runs in ODIs, overtaking Gambhir’s tally of 5238 runs.

Speaking during the mid-innings break, Iftikhar Ahmed said that he was delighted to hit a century. He also said that batting with Babar Azam was quite special for him as he is the No.1 ranked ODI batter.

“Century is an achievement for a player, obviously I am very happy. Ball was gripping when I went in, so you need to give time for yourself to get set. Babar is a great player, World No. 1 player.

‘It’s an awesome feeling to bat with him. He rotates strike very well and we discussed about scoring a boundary when we get a loose ball. The wicket got better to bat on as the innings progressed,” Iftikhar Ahmed said.