Babar Azam achieves new captaincy record post emphatic win over New Zealand

Babar Azam in action (PC: Twitter)

Babar Azam steered Pakistan to a comfortable win over New Zealand in the second T20I of their ongoing tri-series. The skipper crafted an unbeaten 79 off just 53 deliveries, in an innings glittered with 11 classy boundaries.

During the course of his match-winning knock, the cricketer also scaled a new height in T20Is as captain of Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan makes it two wins out of two

New Zealand tri-series 2022: Babar Azam slams record T20I fifty

Babar Azam’s innings marked the 28th T20I half-century of his career. The opening batter also has two tons to his name, thus taking his 50-plus score count in T20Is to 30.

Remarkably, he notched up 20 of those while leading his side in the format. With his latest batting recital against the Kiwis, Azam has now become the first T20I men’s skipper in history to register 20 fifty-plus scores for his side.

Australian captain Aaron Finch is second on the list with 14 of such scores as a leader, and former Indian captain Virat Kohli is third on the list with 13.

Active New Zealand and Indian skippers Kane Williamson and Rohit Sharma are next best on the elite captaincy chart with 12 and 11 respectively.

The Pakistani batting icon will once again go up against New Zealand, in the fourth match of the tri-series. The fixture is slated to be played on October 11 at the same venue.

The tri-series, also featuring Bangladesh, serves as a dress rehearsal for the three sides ahead of the T20I World Cup in Australia later this month.

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