Pakistani batsman Babar Azam is set to rewrite history when he takes the field in the second ODI of the three-match series against South Africa in Cape Town today.
The 29-year-old is just 168 runs away from breaking South African legend Hashim Amla’s record for fastest to 6,000 ODI runs.
Amla reached the milestone in 123 innings, while Babar, with 5,832 runs in 118 innings, has five innings left to surpass this feat.
Notably, the top-order batsman already holds the record for being the fastest to 5,000 ODI runs, achieving it in just 97 innings.
Fastest to 6000 ODI runs:
- Hashim Amla (South Africa): 123 entries
- 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 batsman is on the verge of equaling Saeed Anwar’s record for most centuries by a Pakistani batsman in ODI cricket.
With 19 ODI centuries to his name, Babar needs just one more to equal Anwar’s tally of 20.
Most ODI centuries for Pakistan:
- Saeed Anwar: 20 centuries
- Babar Azam: 19th 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 batsman in ODI history to reach this milestone, second only to Hashim Amla.
Babar Azam scored 19 ODI centuries in 118 innings.
Fastest to 20 ODI centuries:
- Hashim Amla (South Africa): 108 entries
- 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 wicketscourtesy of a brilliant century from Saim Ayub and an impressive all-round performance from Salman Ali Agha.
