The maverick West Indies' wicketkeeper-batsman hit eight sixes in his 29-ball 75 to set-up a comfortable win over the pre-tournament favourites
sports1 day ago
Babar Azam scored a superb century on Friday to help lift Pakistan to the top of the one-day international rankings after a thumping 102-run victory in the fourth match against New Zealand in Karachi.
Azam smashed a 117-ball 107 and also became the fastest batter to reach 5,000 ODI runs, as his team made 334-6 in their 50 overs.
His 18th ODI hundred took him past the mark in his 97th innings in the format, beating former South Africa batter Hashim Amla's previous record of 101 innings.
New Zealand was bowled out for 232 in 43.4 overs with skipper Tom Latham (60), Mark Chapman (46) and Daryl Mitchell (34) offering some resistance.
Leg-spinner Usama Mir led Pakistan's bowling charge with a career-best 4-43 while pacers Mohammad Wasim (3-40) and Haris Rauf (2-37) also impressed.
The win gave Pakistan a 4-0 lead in the five-match series and took them to number one for the first time since the International Cricket Council officially recognised the rankings in 2005.
Pakistan's previous highest ODI ranking was third which they attained in January 2018 and again in June 2022.
Babar starred with his 30th ton in all international cricket after New Zealand won the toss and put the hosts in to bat at National Stadium.
The 28-year-old beat Amla's record when he reached 19.
He added 50 for the second wicket with Shan Masood (44), 127 for the fourth wicket with Agha Salman (58) and another 41 for the sixth with Iftikhar Ahmed who scored 28.
Babar, who has been the number one ODI batter for the last two years, hit 10 boundaries before he was caught at deep mid-wicket off debutant Ben Lister in the 48th over.
Babar is the 14th Pakistani to score 5,000 or more runs in ODI cricket, with former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq top of the list with 11,701.
He is also the fastest to 18 ODI hundreds, beating Amla's record of 102 innings.
Salman chipped in with two sixes and four fours in his 46-ball knock before being caught and bowled by pacer Matt Henry who finished with 3-65.
Shaheen Shah Afridi hit three sixes and a four in his seven-ball 23 not out as Pakistan plundered 94 runs in the last 10 overs.
The maverick West Indies' wicketkeeper-batsman hit eight sixes in his 29-ball 75 to set-up a comfortable win over the pre-tournament favourites
sports1 day ago
Bengaluru needs to win the match by at least 18 runs if they score a minimum of 200 runs batting first or win in 18.1 overs if they are chasing 200
sports1 day ago
The American is faces four criminal charges with assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic
sports1 day ago
It is the first meeting between the world No.1 and No.2 in the tournament's history with a winner's purse of €699,690 at stake
sports1 day ago
'Let your hands talk in the ring. I am excited … let’s make history., said the Ukrainian Usyk after the official weight-in where the Briton avoided eye-contact with his opponent
sports1 day ago
The American sits five shots off the lead with Dubai-based Thomas Detry and Thorbjorn Oleson staying in contention on a record-setting day
sports1 day ago
Olympic champion set the target that no one in the 156-player field could match at Valhalla Golf Club
sports1 day ago
Competition with confirmed field of more than 800 to be held at Al Nasr Club Dubai from May 17-19
sports2 days ago