Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2017: 1st ODI – Statistical Highlights

Pakistan made a strong comeback against Sri Lanka as they defeated the visitors by a huge margin of 83 runs in the first of the 5-match ODI series. After a slow start, Shoaib Malik’s sharp innings of 81 runs helped Pakistan reach 292/6 an innings built on Babar Azam’s anchoring knock of 103 from. Except for the first couple overs where they made runs at nine an over, Sri Lanka never looked in a position to overhaul the target.

Here we look at all the stats and records created during the game:

3 – Babar Azam now has scored centuries in ODI cricket at each of the three venues he has played in UAE. In his last four ODI innings in the UAE, he struck two centuries in Sharjah, one century in Abu Dhabi and now a hundred in Dubai. No other player has scored a century at more than two UAE venues.

4 – Babar Azam became the first player to score centuries in four consecutive ODI innings in UAE. Saeed Anwar (in 1993) is the only other to score three consecutive ODI hundreds in the UAE.

5 – This is Pakistan’s fifth consecutive victory in ODI cricket starting with their win against South Africa in the Champions Trophy 2017. This is the first time in five years that Pakistan won five consecutive ODIs as their last such streak came back in the 2011-12 season where they won seven ODIs in a row.

8 – Number of consecutive matches Sri Lanka have lost in ODI cricket. This is the Island team’s joint longest losing streak in the ODI format in the last 25 years. They lost eight in a row between 1998 and 1999.

12 – Ahmed Shehzad’s 12-ball duck is the most balls a Pakistan player faced for a duck in ODI cricket in the last ten years. Nasir Jamshed also took 12 balls for his duck in 2013 in Sharjah against South Africa.

32 – Innings Babar Azam needed to score his 6th century in ODI cricket. The 32 innings are the 2nd fewest by any player for scoring their 6th ODI hundred. Upul Tharanga needed 29 innings for his 6th ODI hundred.

101 – Number of sixes Shoaib Malik has hit in his ODI career so far. He became the 5th Pakistan player and the 32nd player overall to complete 100 ODI sixes.

128 – Azam’s 128-ball century is the slowest ODI hundred by a Pakistan player since 2012. Mohammad Hafeez was the last to record a slower hundred than Azam, which he did in September 2011 taking 129 balls for his century against Zimbabwe.

139 – The partnership of 139 runs between Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik is the 2nd highest in Pakistan-Sri Lanka ODIs for the 4th wicket. The Pakistan pair of Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal shared a 152-run stand in 2012 in Dhaka.