Babar Azam continued his brilliant run of form with a third consecutive ODI century, breaking a string of records during Pakistan’s five-wicket win over West Indies in the first of three ODIs at Multan.
Babar is now the only player to hit three consecutive ODI centuries twice; he celebrated the feat against the same opposition in the UAE in 2016, when he struck his three hundreds in the same bilateral series. In this case, his first two hundreds came against Australia earlier this year. Only 11 players have hit three or more centuries on the bounce in ODI cricket.
His 103 from No.3 helped chase down a target of 306. It was his 17th century in the format, and his fourth century in his last five ODI innings. He began the three-match series against Australia with a half-century and hit 158 against England last July. His ODI average currently stands at 59.78 – it’s the highest in the format’s history among all batters who have played at least 50 innings.
Named ODI captain in May 2020, Babar averages a majestic 91.36 in 13 innings at the helm, with six centuries to his name. On Wednesday, he crossed 1,000 ODI runs as skipper, becoming the fastest to do so in terms of innings, beating Virat Kohli’s record of 17 innings. Among all captains who’ve batted in at least 10 innings, Babar’s average is also the highest.
After moving up and down the order early in his career, Babar’s become a permanent at No.3 for Pakistan in the format. Among all batters with at least 20 innings at No.3, his average is currently the highest, standing at 65.91.
Babar also has the best hundred to innings ratio in the format among all those with at least ten centuries: he’s averages a century every five innings (17 out of 85). Among all Pakistan batters, only Saeed Anwar (20) has more hundreds overall.
The prince that was promised= Babar Azam. Fastest to 1,000 ODI runs as captain. 17th ODI hundred. Best inns to 100 ratio in ODI cricket’s history (min Ten 100s). He is the undisputed KING of this format
— Rehan Ulhaq (@Rehan_ulhaq) June 8, 2022
With 4,364 runs in 85 innings, Babar now has a realistic chance of becoming the fastest to 5,000 ODI runs in terms of innings. Hashim Amla currently holds the record, having reached the landmark in 101 innings.
