In the upcoming Asia Cup 2023, there’s a chance for Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan’s cricket team, to beat a unique record set by Virat Kohli, a famous Indian batsman. This might happen during the highly anticipated match between Pakistan and India in Kandy, scheduled for this Saturday.
At the moment, Babar has scored 1994 runs in 30 innings as a captain. Virat Kohli, who used to be the captain of India’s team, took 36 innings to reach the milestone of 2000 runs as a captain. So, if Babar scores just a bit more, he’ll surpass Kohli’s record.
Recently, Babar Azam achieved another remarkable feat. During the opening match of the Asia Cup, he scored his 19th century in One Day Internationals (ODIs). This made him the quickest player to reach 19 centuries in ODIs, surpassing Hasim Amla from South Africa, who did it in 104 innings. Babar accomplished this in just 102 innings, while Kohli took 124 innings to achieve the same.
In a recent game against Nepal, thanks to Babar’s impressive score of 151 runs, Pakistan won by a massive margin of 238 runs. Babar mentioned that this victory provided good practice for the match against India, boosting their confidence. He expressed his desire to give their best effort in every match, including the one against India.
During the Nepal match, Babar made his 19th century in ODIs, and Iftikhar Ahmed scored his first century as well. Together, they led Pakistan to a strong total of 342 for six wickets after choosing to bat. Babar’s partnerships with Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed were crucial in building this score.
In response, Nepal’s team struggled and was bowled out for just 104 runs in 23.4 overs. Shadab Khan took four wickets, and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s performance was also noteworthy. This victory further boosted Pakistan’s confidence for the upcoming match against India.