Statsman: Babar fastest to 19 ODI centuries, beats Amla and Kohli

His knock of 151 against Nepal in the Asia Cup, his 19th century, came in his 102nd innings. Amla took just two more matches to reach that milestone.

Published : Sep 13, 2023 21:43 IST , Chennai - 0 MINS READ

Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam plays a shot during Asia Cup 2023.
Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam plays a shot during Asia Cup 2023. | Photo Credit: AFP
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Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam plays a shot during Asia Cup 2023. | Photo Credit: AFP

Babar’s feat


102The number of innings taken by Pakistani Babar Azam to reach his 19th ODI century during his knock of 151 against Nepal in Multan on 30 August 2023. This number of innings is now the quickest by any ODI batter to reach this landmark. Babar bettered the previous record of 104 innings by South African Hashim Amla, who had held this since 28 January 2015 during his 133 against West Indies in Centurion. Interestingly, Both Babar and Amla were captaining their respective sides. It was Babar’s eighth ODI hundred as captain in his 30th innings. He bettered the previous record held by Virat Kohli, who reached his eighth century as captain in 32 innings.

Batters to reach 19th ODI century in fewest innings (and matches)

Inns

M

Batter

For

Achieved on

50s

Runs

Ave.

S/R

HS

102

104

Babar Azam

Pak

30 Aug 2023

28

5353

59.48

89.40

158

104

107

Hashim Amla

SAf

28 Jan 2015

27

5359

56.41

89.60

153*

124

131

Virat Kohli

Ind

26 Feb 2014

30

5581

52.65

89.91

183

139

141

David Warner

Aus

22 Nov 2022

27

6007

45.17

95.26

179

171

177

A. B. de Villiers

SA+

18 Jan 2015

43

7440

52.39

97.23

149

The batter’s ODI career record after the completion of 19th century is in the table above.

+ includes the five matches for Africa XI. Note: Babar Azam, at 28y-319d, is the third youngest to achieve this landmark after Virat Kohli (25y-113d) and Sachin Tendulkar (25y-187d).

2The number of occasions when Pakistani batters managed to make 150+ scores while captaining their ODI side. Babar is the only one to do so on both occasions for Pakistan. His recent 151 against Nepal in Multan was short of his record of 158 as captain against England in Birmingham on 13 July 2021.

Highest ODI scores as captain for Pakistan

Runs

Pakistan captain

Opp

Venue

Date

M Inn

Result

158

Babar Azam

Eng

Birmingham

13 Jul 2021

1

Lost

151

Babar Azam

Nepal

Multan

30 Aug 2023

1

Won

125*

Shoaib Malik

Ind

Karachi

26 Jun 2008

1

Lost

125

Babar Azam

Zim

Rawalpindi

3 Nov 2020

2

Tie (Pak lost super over)

124

Shahid Afridi

Ban

Dambulla

21 Jun 2010

1

Won

Note: Nine Pakistanis have made centuries in ODIs while captaining their side. Babar has a maximum of eight and Azhar Ali has three.

Only two batters have made scores of 150+ in the Asia Cup Virat Kohli, 183 against Pakistan in Mirpur on 18 March 2012, and Babar Azam, 151 (see above).


3The number of occasions a Sri Lankan bowler has claimed a four-wicket haul in ODIs before the age of 21 years. In the second match of the Asia Cup in Pallekele on 31 August 2023, pacer Matheesha Pathirana, at 20y-256d, became the youngest Sri Lankan to claim a four-wicket haul in ODI cricket, while taking 4/32 against Bangladesh. In doing so, he also became the fifth youngest to achieve this in the Asia Cup tournament.

Youngest Sri Lankan to claim a four-wicket haul in an ODI match

Age

Bowler (Figures)

Opp

Venue

Date

Result

20y-256d

Matheesha Pathirana (4/32)

Ban

Pallekele

31 Aug 2023

Won

20y-280d

Chaminda Vaas (4/20)

Zim

Harare

3 Nov 1994

Won

20y-364d

Kaushik Amalean (4/46)

Pak

Colombo SSC

6 Apr 1986

Won

21y-17d

Rumesh Ratnayake (4/37)

Aus

Melbourne

19 Jan 1985

Won

21y-37d

Mahesh Theekshana (4/37)

SAf

Colombo RPS

7 Sep 2021

Won


4The number of occasions when India’s number five and six scored 80+ in the same innings in an ODI match. In the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Pallekele on 2 September 2023, Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87) provided the latest such instance for India. Incidentally, this is the first time any batting pair has done this in an Asia Cup match, and overall, it is the 14th such instance in ODI cricket.

India’s number five and six registering 80+ scores in same ODI match

Batter #5

Batter #6

Opponent

Venue

Date

Result

Mohd. Azharuddin (111*)

Ajay Jadeja (119)

Sri Lanka

Colombo RPS

17 Aug 1997

Lost

Yuvraj Singh (110)

Mohd Kaif (83*)

West Indies

Colombo RPS

7 Aug 2005

Won

Suresh Raina (110*)

M. S. Dhoni (85*)

Zimbabwe

Auckland

14 Mar 2015

Won

Ishan Kishan (83)

Hardik Pandya (87)

Pakistan

Pallekele

2 Sep 2023

NR


2The number of occasions when a player led an ODI side against India before the age of 22. Nepal’s captain Rohit Paudel, at 21y-2d, became the second youngest player to lead a side in an ODI match against India, in Pallekele on 4 Sep 2023. Also, Paudel became the second youngest to lead a side in the Asia Cup tournament after Hong Kong’s Anshuman Rath in 2018.

Youngest to captain in an ODI match against India

Age

Opponent captain

For

Venue

Date

Result (for opponent)

20y-317d

Anshuman Rath

Hong Kong

Dubai

18 Sep 2018

Lost

21y-2d

Rohit Paudel

Nepal

Pallekele

4 Sep 2023

Lost

22y-71d

Graeme Smith

South Africa

Dhaka

13 Apr 2003

Lost

22y-107d

Tatenda Taibu

Zimbabwe

Harare

29 Aug 2005

Lost

22y-289d

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh

Mirpur

7 Jan 2010

Lost

Youngest to captain in an Asia Cup ODI match

Age

Opponent captain

For

Against

Venue

Date

Result

20y-315d

Anshuman Rath

Hong Kong

Pakistan

Dubai

16 Sep 2018

Lost

20y-362d

Rohit Paudel

Nepal

Pakistan

Multan

30 Aug 2023

Lost

23y-84d

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh

India

Dambulla

16 Jun 2010

Lost

23y-196d

Moin Khan

Pakistan

India

Sharjah

7 Apr 1995

Won

23y-353d

Mohd Ashraful

Bangladesh

UAE

Lahore

24 Jun 2008

Won


3The number of occasions when an ODI side won by a margin of 10 wickets despite scoring fewer runs than the losing side. India’s victory against Nepal in Pallekele on 4 September provided the latest such instance in ODI cricket history. Such results occur after the targets and overs are adjusted via the DLS method because of interruptions, such as rain.

Sides winning an ODI match without losing any wicket in the second innings despite scoring fewer runs than the side batting first

Result

Team1

Team2

Venue

Date

India won by 10 wickets

WI 121

Ind 116/0

Port of Spain

27 Apr 1997

England won by 10 wickets

SL 174

Eng 171/0

Nottingham

6 Jul 2011

India won by 10 wickets

Nep 230

Ind 147/0

Pallekele

4 Sep 2023


Also, there are two other instances in ODI cricket where the side batting second won by runs and not by wickets despite not losing any. In both these games, the targets had to be readjusted.

Result

Team1

Team2

Venue

Date

West Indies won by 28 runs

Ind 176

WI 108/0

Srinagar

13 Oct 1983

India won by 84 runs

NZ 270/5

Ind 201/0

Hamilton

11 Mar 2009


3The number of occasions when a batter managed to make a fifty-plus score at a batting strike rate of 200-plus in an Asia Cup match. Mohd. Nabi’s 65 in 32 balls against Sri Lanka in Lahore was the third quickest by a batter in the Asia Cup (ODI). It was also the fastest by an Afghan batter in ODI cricket.

Fastest individual knocks in the Asia Cup (ODI)

S/R

Batter

(runs/balls)

For

Against

Venue

Date

Result

236.00

Shahid Afridi

(59 in 25)

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Mirpur

4 Mar 2014

Won

206.66

Shahid Afridi+

(124 in 60)

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Dambulla

21 Jun 2010

Won

203.12

Mohd Nabi

(65 in 32)

Afghanistan

Sri Lanka

Lahore

5 Sep 2023

Lost

180.64

Moin Khan+

(56* in 31)

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Dhaka

7 Jun 2000

Won

178.12

Rashid Khan

(57* in 32)

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Abu Dhabi

20 Sep 2018

Won

+ was captain


Fastest individual knocks by an Afghan batter in ODIs

S/R

Batter

(runs/balls)

Against

Venue

Date

Result

203.12

Mohd Nabi

(65 in 32)

Sri Lanka

Lahore

5 Sep 2023

Lost

183.33

Rashid Khan

(55 in 30)

Ireland

Abu Dhabi

21 Jan 2021

Won

181.81

Najibullah Zadran

(60* in 33)

Ireland

Belfast

21 May 2019

Won

178.57

Shafiqullah

(50* in 28)

Ireland

G Noida

19 Mar 2017

Lost

178.12

Rashid Khan

(57* in 32)

Bangladesh

Abu Dhabi

20 Sep 2018

Won

Note:Nabi’s 24-ball fifty during his above knock is also the quickest by an Afghan batter in ODIs and the second-quickest in the Asia Cup (ODI) after the 18-ball fifty by Shahid Afridi against Bangladesh in 2014.


31The number of innings taken by Pakistani Babar Azam to reach 2000 ODI runs as captain during his short innings of 17 against Bangladesh in Lahore on 6 September 2023. He thus became the 35th player to aggregate 2000 or more runs while captaining an ODI side. However, he is the quickest to reach this landmark, in fewest innings as captain. He bettered the previous record of 36 innings held by Virat Kohli since September 2017.

Quickest to aggregate 2000 runs as ODI captain in fewest innings (and matches)

Inns

M

Batter

For

Achieved on

Runs

Ave.

100/50

HS

31

32

Babar Azam

Pak

6 Sep 2023

2011

69.34

8/13

158

36

39

Virat Kohli

Ind

28 Sep 2017

2008

74.37

8/10

139*

41

43

AB de Villiers

SA+

12 Jul 2014

2020

63.13

6/11

128

44

45

Kane Williamson

NZ

6 Jan 2018

2078

49.48

4/15

123

46

46

Aaron Finch

Aus

16 Jun 2022

2012

45.73

6/12

153*

The batter’s ODI career record after the completion of 2000 runs as captain is in the table above.

+ includes the five matches for Africa XI

All records are correct and updated until 8 Sep 2023

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