Stats: Most runs in a 3-match ODI series
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam’s third One-Day International century in third ODI against West Indies helped him become only seventh batsman to register three consecutive ODI centuries or more and also helped him become the leading run-scorer in a 3-match ODI series.
By registering his third consecutive ODI century, Babar Azam went past Quinton de Kock's record of 342 runs, which until today was the most runs scored by a batsman in a 3-match ODI series. The South African keeper managed the feat against India in 2013 while Babar Azam went past him with three successive centuries against West Indies.
Before the start of the three-match ODI series against West Indies, the 21-year-old didn’t have a single ODI century to his name. But in the first two games, he corrected that by scoring back-to-back centuries at Sharjah. His scores of 120 and 123 helped Pakistan take a 2-0 lead in the series.
In the third ODI, he made history by becoming the third Pakistani batsman to score three ODI centuries in a row, after Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar. He eventually finished with 117 and departed for the final time in the series, having amassed 360 runs. Overall, only Kumar Sangakkara with four successive centuries has more consecutive ODI centuries.
Only five players have ever managed to score more than 300 in a 3-match ODI series and all of those have come after 2010. In the list of top five best series aggregates from a three-match ODI series, players from five different countries make an appearance.
By scoring a century in all three matches of an ODI series, he joined de Kock as the only batsmen to have scored a century in every match of an ODI series. He also overtook the Proteas wicketkeeper’s record of 342 against India, which had stood for three years before Azam broke it in the third ODI.
Although 360 runs is an incredible feat in a three-match series, it is far below the record in an ODI series between two teams, which stands at 491. In fact, Azam’s tally of runs has been bettered 30 times in an ODI series between two teams.
Only four times has a Pakistan batsman scored more than Azam’s tally of 360 runs in an ODI series featuring two teams. Salman Butt’s tally fo 451 runs against Bangladesh in a five-match ODI series is the highest by a Pakistan batsman in a bilateral ODI series.
Here is the list of most runs in a 3-match ODI series.
Most runs scored by a batsman in a 3-match ODI series
| No | Player | Opposition | Runs | Year |
| 1. | Babar Azam (Pakistan) | West Indies | 360 | 2016 |
| 2. | Quinton de Kock (South Africa) | India | 342 | 2013 |
| 3. | Martin Guptill (New Zealand) | England | 330 | 2013 |
| 4. | Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) | Pakistan | 312 | 2015 |
| 5. | Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe) | New Zealand | 310 | 2011 |
| 6. | Graham Gooch (England) | Australia | 289 | 1985 |
| 7. | Shikhar Dhawan (India) | Sri Lanka | 283 | 2014 |
| 8. | Denesh Ramdin (West Indies) | Bangladesh | 277 | 2014 |
| 9. | Viv Richards (West Indies) | England | 276 | 1984 |
| 10. | Khurram Khan (UAE) | Afghanistan | 270 | 2014 |