Babar Azam becomes highest run-scorer in Pakistan T20I history
Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has become the highest T20I run-scorer for Pakistan with 2,515 runs in just 64 innings, overtaking Mohammad Hafeez in the process.
Azam achieved this feat during the second T20I between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Dhaka. Hafeez, who stood on top of the Pakistani T20I batting charts with 2,514 runs in 108 innings, has now slipped to the second position.
The Pakistani skipper didn't have a great game against Bangladesh, only managing to score a single run in the second T20I. However, it was enough to add another feather to his cap.
Azam achieved the milestone with an average of 47.43 and a strike rate of 129.78. The 27-year old also has 24 half-centuries and a century against South Africa to his name.
Azam's sublime talent and impregnable temperament has yielded huge success for him since his debut in 2016. After scoring the most runs in the recent T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE, the right-hander stamped his name as one of the world's best batters, especially in the shortest format of the game.
In the ongoing calendar year, he has scored 834 runs in 22 innings, only behind his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan, who has 1083 runs in the same number of innings.
Pakistan won by 8 wickets to clinch the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh
Babar Azam's side registered a thumping victory over Bangladesh to clinch the three-match T20I series. The Pakistani bowling unit and an 85-run stand from Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman led to the Men in Green's eight-wicket win in Dhaka.
Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the decision backfired as they lost both their openers in the space of just five runs. Hossain Shanto and Afif Hossain put up a fight and managed a 46-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
However, as soon as Babar Azam introduced the spinners, Bangladesh started losing wickets regularly. A collective bowling effort from the Pakistani unit restricted the hosts to a mere 108 runs in the first innings. Shaheen Afridi (2/15) and Shadab Khan (2/22) were the two pick of the bowlers. Meanwhile, Hossain Shanto top-scored for Bangladesh with his 40 runs in 34 deliveries.
In their pursuit of 109 runs, Pakistan lost their skipper in the third over when Azam was chopped on against Mustafizur Rehman's length delivery.
However, the duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman kept Bangladesh at bay. The duo controlled the pace of the match and didn't allow the hosts to make a comeback in the match. Leg-spinner Aminul Islam did make a breakthrough for his side when he dismissed Rizwan in the 16th over, but it was too little too late for the hosts.
With Fakhar Zaman's half-century, Pakistan eventually chased down the target with as many as eleven balls to spare. The left-hander was adjudged Player of the Match was his unbeaten 57 runs in 51 balls.
With Pakistan attaining an unassailable 2-0 lead, Bangladesh will look for a consolation victory in the third T20I. The two teams will go head-to-head against each other in the last match of the series in Dhaka on November 22.