In the 2025 Champions Trophy league stage encounter against India, Babar Azam made history and left his mark on the history books. Before being removed, the Pakistani opener hit 23 runs off of 26 balls. Babar was playing well and had a respectable start to the innings. Hardik Pandya removed the former Pakistan captain while bowling his second over. Babar went back for 23 after edging an outside-off delivery to KL Rahul behind the wickets. However, Babar made history and set a significant record prior to being dismissed. During his knock, he completed 1000 runs in ICC ODI competitions.
Babar creates big record
In ICC ODI competitions, Babar Azam made history by becoming the fastest batsman from Pakistan to reach 1000 runs. He accomplished the milestone in just 24 innings, compared to Saeed Anwar's 25 innings. Javed Miandad is third, having achieved the feat in 30 innings.
In 2017, Babar made his ICC ODI debut. He played for the team captained by Sarfaraz Ahmed who won the final against India. He played in the 2019 ODI World Cup as well. Babar led Pakistan in the ODI World Cup in 2023. It has been since 2011 that Pakistan has advanced to the second round of a 50-over World Cup. After the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar stepped down as captain. Although Pakistan was eliminated from the league stage, he returned as captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan openers depart in quick intervals
Pakistan lost two early wickets in Dubai after getting off to a good start. Imam ul Haq got run out after scoring ten, and before him, Babar was dismissed for 23. Imma played toward mid-on and then went for the run. The ball was swiftly picked up by Axar Patel, who threw it directly at the stumps. After the second wicket fell, Mohammad Rizwan joined Saud Shakeel. Pakistan might most likely be eliminated from the 2025 Champions Trophy if they lose here.
IND vs PAK Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed