Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam is on the verge of rewriting history as he takes the field in the second ODI of the three-match series against South Africa today in Cape Town.
The 29-year-old is just 168 runs away from breaking South African legend Hashim Amla’s record for the fastest to 6000 ODI runs.
Amla achieved the milestone in 123 innings, while Babar, with 5832 runs in 118 innings, has five innings left to surpass this feat.
Notably, the top-order batter already holds the record for being the fastest to 5000 ODI runs, achieving it in just 97 innings.
Fastest to 6000 ODI Runs:
- Hashim Amla (South Africa): 123 innings
- Virat Kohli (India): 136 innings
- Kane Williamson (New Zealand): 139 innings
- David Warner (Australia): 139 innings
- Shikhar Dhawan (India): 140 innings
Adding to this, the right-handed batter is on the verge of equaling Saeed Anwar’s record for the most centuries by a Pakistani batter in ODI cricket.
With 19 ODI centuries to his name, Babar needs just one more to match Anwar’s tally of 20.
Most ODI Centuries for Pakistan:
- Saeed Anwar: 20 centuries
- Babar Azam: 19 centuries
- Mohammad Yousuf: 15 centuries
- Fakhar Zaman: 11 centuries
- Mohammad Hafeez: 11 centuries
If Babar scores his 20th century today, he will become the second-fastest batter in ODI history to reach this landmark, second only to Hashim Amla.
Babar Azam scored 19 ODI centuries in 118 innings.
Fastest to 20 ODI Centuries:
- Hashim Amla (South Africa): 108 innings
- Virat Kohli (India): 133 innings
- David Warner (Australia): 142 innings
- Quinton de Kock (South Africa): 150 innings
- AB de Villiers (South Africa): 175 innings
Pakistan currently lead the three-match ODI series 1-0 after winning the series opener by three wickets, courtesy of a brilliant century by Saim Ayub and an impressive all-round performance by Salman Ali Agha.