CENTURION: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has added another feather to his illustrious cap as he became the fastest batsman to score 13 ODI centuries.
Playing his 76th ODI on Friday, Babar Azam continued his impressive performance in ODI cricket and smashed 103 runs to guide his team to a three-wicket win in the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa.
It took the Pakistan captain only 76 innings to score 13 tons in the 50-over format. South Africa’s Hashim Amla, India’s Virat Kohli, and South Africa’s Quentin de Kock — his contemporaries — scored 13 centuries from 83 innings, 13 centuries from 86 innings, and 13 tons from 86 innings, respectively.
Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning, too, took 76 innings to reach her 13th ODI hundred. Azam is currently placed at number 2 in the ICC ODI batsman rankings. Kohli occupies the number one spot but, according to a cricket statistician, Azam can surpass Kohli to become the best batsman in the world in the 50-over format.
However, he was fortunate on Friday to have this feat of his in a winning cause. Despite being in a strong position in most of the match, Pakistan almost messed it up right at the end.
Pakistan needed just 3 runs in the final over. Andile Phehlukwayo nearly delivered a miracle for South Africa. Faheem Ashraf played out 4 dot balls before holding his nerve to hit the winning runs in a thrilling finish in the series opener.
