Babar Azam On Cusp Of ODI Glory: To Surpass Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma With Two Monumental Records

The sensational batsman of Pakistan, Babar Azam is about to break the record books as his team goes to face the first ODI of the three-match series against the West Indies. The match will be played on Friday, and in an academy, the Brian Lara Cricket academy, in Tarouba.

Babar Azam in Sight of Saeed Anwar Century Mark

The 30 year old can count only 100 years before equaling the record set by legendary Saeed Anwar of highest number of hundreds by a Pakistani player in One-Day Internationals. Anwar has achieved 20 centuries in 247 matches and 244 innings which was unbroken decades ago.

With 19 centuries already, Babar Azam, who has so far played only 131 matches and 128 innings, has the opportunity to match the numbers of Anwar in a remarkably less number of games. Another score of three figures will not only bring him on a level, but place him in position to break the record in style.

Most ODI Centuries by Pakistan Batters:

Saeed Anwar – 20 centuries in 247 matches
Babar Azam – 19* centuries in 131 matches
Mohammad Yousuf – 15 centuries in 281 matches
Fakhar Zaman – 11 centuries in 82 matches
Mohammad Hafeez – 11 centuries in 218 matches

Abruptly Recording The History Of Virat Kohli

Even as he pursues Anwar as the overall fastest scorer of centuries, Babar Azam is also drawing close to usurping position two in the list of centuries as the second-quickest batter to achieve 20 centuries in ODI History. He now has 19 hundreds in only 128 innings meaning that he is in touching distance of reaching Virat Kohli who himself has 133 innings.

Babar will move ahead of Kohli and into the second position on the list of fastest players to hit 20 ODI centuries in case he hits a century in one of his next four innings. The feat has only been reached more quickly by South African great Hashim Amla who reached the mark in a breathtaking 108 innings.

Fastest To 20 ODI Hundreds:

Hashim Amla – 108 innings
Virat Kohli – 133 innings
AB de Villiers – 175 innings
Rohit Sharma – 183 innings

The score rate of Babar Azam has already categorized him as one of the most reliable run-getters of the contemporary game. Management of various weather conditions also gives him high strike rates thus being a threat at all times to bowlers globally.

A Chance For ODI Glory

The upcoming ODI series hands Babar Azam with such a chance to break both records nearly at the same time. The feat would immortalize him as one of the highest run-scorers in the history of the game since he would join a historical figure Saeed Anwar and overtake the record of another world-class bat Virat Kohli successively.

As the West Indies series is being launched in Tarouba, the cricket fans will eagerly be waiting to see whether Babar Azam replicates his spectacular performance and etch his name even further on the history of ODI cricket and produce another such innings that will be remembered as match-defining.

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