Babar Azam Soars Past Virat Kohli, ABD Despite Failure vs BAN In Asia Cup 2023
Babar Azam with Virat Kohli (X.com)
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, having plundered a majestic 151 against Nepal in team’s Asia Cup 2023 opener, failed to get going against Bangladesh in a modest run-chase. Batting at number three, the cricketer was cleaned up by Taskin Ahmed for just 17.
Nonetheless, his troops secured an emphatic seven-wicket victory to open their Super Four account, and the batting veteran himself managed to dethrone the likes of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson for a huge ODI record.
Babar Azam claims another ODI milestone
Babar Azam has so far minted over 5,000 runs in his ODI career. The legendary batter scored 2,000 of those as Pakistan captain, reaching the feat through his 17-run knock against Bangladesh in their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash.
Remarkably, the cricketer completed 2,000 runs as ODI captain in just his 31st innings, thus overtaking former Indian skipper Virat Kohli to claim the coveted milestone. Former South African batsman AB de Villiers and New Zealand great Kane Williamson are next on the list in terms of quickest captains to score 2,000 runs in terms of ODI innings.
Fastest batsmen to score 2,000 ODI runs as captain:
| Player | Country | Innings |
|---|---|---|
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 31 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 36 |
| AB De Villiers | South Africa | 41 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 44 |
In the meantime, both Babar Azam and Virat Kohli along with their teammates are bracing themselves for round two this Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka.
The two titans are set to collide on September 10, which will also mark India’s opening Super Four match of the competition.
In their previous meeting this tournament, Kohli ended up registering a rare failure against his arch-rivals, as India slumped to 66-4 at one stage. Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan eventually lifted the ‘Men in Blue’ with some belligerent counterattacking stroke-play to extend the score to a competitive 266.
Persistent rains in the evening washed out the entirety of Pakistan’s run-chase, forcing both teams to walk away with a point each.
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