Babar Azam is the first player in his career to raising his Test batting average above 50. As a result, Babar now has a higher Test batting average than Virat Kohli.
Babar Azam, captain of the Pakistani cricket team and one of the best batters in the game, is a true gem. The top batsman ignored a slump in his batting to demoralize the New Zealand spinners in the first Test on Monday. Babar smashed 161 not out off 277 balls as Pakistan posted 317 runs for the cost of 5 wickets on the first day. Babar’s Test batting average also improved by crossing the 50-run threshold as a result of this performance. Also, this was the first time Babar’s batting average in the game’s longest format had ever been higher than Virat Kohli’s.
Since the Pakistani batter made waves with his scorching performances, comparisons have been made between Babar Azam and the Indian superstar Virat Kohli. After losing the first two wickets for only 19 runs, Pakistan sent out Babar to bat against New Zealand. First, the Pakistan captain put together a solid 62-run stand with Saud Shakeel for the fourth wicket. The fifth-wicket partnership between Babar and former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was worth 194 runs when Ahmed was dismissed for an excellent 86.
Day 1 play was called off with Babar still not out for 161, handing Pakistan a dominating position. At the end of the day, Babar had notched his ninth Test century and several other career highs.
The fact that Babar’s current batting average (54.93) is higher than Virat’s has been a major talking point on social media (48.91). But with a February Test match between Virat Kohli’s India and Australia on the books, the tides might turn swiftly.
Babar is the top run-getter in Test cricket this year scoring more runs than England’s Joe Root. Nearly the course of the most extended game format, Babar has amassed over 1100 runs, with Root close behind with 1098. It’s not just David Warner who has scored over 100 runs in Tests this year; Usman Khawaja and Jonny Bairstow have also done it.
The right-handed batter also holds the record for the most innings in which a captain has scored 50 or more runs in a single year. With his 25th 50+ of the year, Babar has now broken Ricky Ponting’s 2005 record of 24.
