Top 5 knocks of Babar Azam in 2021

The term ‘next big thing’ is not given to a player just after a few good performances. It is baptized to a person after the cricketing fraternity sees some unbelievable skills and potent in that player. One such player in this era who owes this tag is Pakistan’s Babar Azam.

Babar Azam debuted for the team in the ODIs in 2015, followed by T20Is and Tests in 2016. He has been a sensational batter of the team and gradually developed and emerged as their key player. Babar also took over the captaincy in Test format this year and became the captain of all formats of the Pakistan team.

At a very young age of 27, he has shattered many records across all formats and has become one of the current best batters in the lot. This year 2021, has also been his amelioration as he has played some amazing knocks for his country.

In the article, let’s take a look at the top 5 knocks from Babar Azam in 2021:

1. 68* vs India

Babar Azam stepped into the T20 World Cup this year for the first time and had the prestigious captaincy role under his cap. His first T20 world cup match was a highly tense one against Pakistan’s arch-rivals India.

Pakistan’s Babar won the toss and decided to field first and restricted the highly spoken Indian team to a score of 151. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan as usual opened the innings for them in the highly chaotic match. He started the innings slow and steady and kicked-off with his gorgeous back foot cover punch.

Babar played the second-fiddle role to his partner and steadily paced the innings. His intentions were very clear to win the game and he got to his fifty in style with a six. His 68* off 52 aided the team to their maiden world cup victory against India and it definitely would be an unforgettable inning for him.

2. 158 vs England

This year for Babar Azam has been splendid as he had some wondrous feats and he also racked up his highest ODI score. This happened in July when Pakistan toured England for a three-match ODI and T20I series.

After being put to bat in the third ODI, Babar Azam, who was captaining the side, came to bat at number three and as usual, took some time to settle according to the pitch. After battling for 14 deliveries, he scored his first run by hitting a boundary.

He sedately gathered run by run and got to his fifty in 72 deliveries. After that, he shifted his gears and scored his second century of the year in 104 balls. Babar then swiftly accelerated and got to his first 150 and got out at 158 runs in 139 balls and this was his highest ODI score ever.

3. 122 vs South Africa

In the month of April when Pakistan toured South Africa for three ODIs and four T20Is, Babar Azam broke many records. The situation before the third T20I match being 1-1 in the series, the teams played to place their first hand on the trophy.

This was a crucial T20I match for both the teams as they were equally balanced on the points. Pakistan opted to field first and had to chase a huge target of 203. The openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam stepped onto the crease with a score ticking behind them.

The 27-year-old batter middled the ball perfectly and went on to hit his maiden T20I hundred in just 49 deliveries. He was then dismissed only after scoring 122 runs in 50 balls with a strike rate of 206.77 which includes 15 boundaries and four sixes. Babar and Rizwan shared a partnership of 197 staggering runs and became the highest ever of the team and fourth highest of all time in this format.

4. 77 vs South Africa

Babar Azam has been a decent Test player and he made his debut in 2016 and has played consistently for the team. He has the highest score of 143 and averages 43.17 in this format. However, this was not his personal best Test career year.

He just got an opportunity to play eight Test matches this year as he has hit 416 runs with an average of 34.66. Pakistan toured South Africa and had to play two Tests. And in the second Test match against the Proteas in the month of February, he played a crucial knock for his team.

After being out for fewer runs in the first Test match, Babar had the responsibility as a skipper to contribute to his team with the bat. He, amidst the falling wickets, sustained the Proteas bowling and hit 77 runs and his contributions helped the team to post a decent score and the series was sealed by Pakistan.

5. 103 vs South Africa

In this series against South Africa, Babar was on fiery form and after the end of the series, he came to the throne of number one spot in the ICC rankings surpassing Virat Kohli. His touch with the bat in South Africa was elegant as he timed and placed the ball flawlessly.

The match which is highlighted here is the first ODI against the Proteas. The Pakistani team decided to field first and got a target of 274 runs to chase. After the early wicket of Fakhar Zaman, Babar came to bat at number three.

With the responsibility of taking the team to the triumph, Babar started to build the innings and he scored his 13th ODI century and assisted their team to the victory and series lead. It was his 76th innings and this century made him the quickest batter to reach this landmark.