Babar Azam breaks Hashim Amla’s record with century against Nepal in Asia Cup

Babar Azam breaks Hasim Amla record

Pakistan captain Babar Azam added another feather to his ODI cap as he smashed a century against Nepal in Wednesday’s opening match of the Asia Cup 2023 in Multan. Babar brought up his 19th ODI hundred to become the fastest batter to achieve the feat in world cricket. The in-form 28-year-old broke former South Africa opener Hashim Amla’s record. Babar has 19 ODI centuries in 102 innings, bettering the previous record of 104 innings which Amla had achieved during his playing career for the Proteas.

Babar was cautious at first during his innings when he came in to bat at 21 for 1 after the fall of Fakhar Zaman (14) in the sixth over. He scored his first 50 runs in 72 balls, but then stepped on the accelerator pedal as he stitched a 86-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan for the third wicket. Babar’s second 50 came off just 37 balls as he upped the ante after Rizwan’s dismissal. He has already added over 150 runs for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed and is showing no signs of slowing down just yet as Pakistan looks to end with a flourish after opting to bat first against Nepal1.

Babar is second on the list of most centuries in one-day internationals for Pakistan, behind Saeed Anwar’s tally of 20. He is also the only Pakistani batter to score more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs, which he achieved in 2019 and 2021. He is currently ranked second in the ICC ODI rankings for batters, behind India’s Virat Kohli3.

Babar’s century has also delighted the Pakistan fans, who hope their team can win their third Asia Cup title after 2000 and 2012. Pakistan are placed in Group A along with Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while Group B consists of India, Afghanistan, Oman, and UAE. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, followed by the final on September 154.