In the first innings of the second Test match against the West Indies, Babar Azam more than made up for his lacklustre performance in the first Test. The Pakistan Test captain was under increasing pressure to deliver, and he demonstrated his class in the opening innings.
When Babar came out to bat, Pakistan lost two wickets for 98 runs after the Windies scored 344 runs in their opening innings. Together with Abdullah Shafique, Babar solidified the innings on a track that had something to offer the pacers, and he finished undefeated at 86.
In the process, the Test skipper achieved a unique record by surpassing Imran Khan and matching the legendary Javed Miandad in terms of the most fifties scored by a Pakistani Test captain.
The right-handed hitter got his 13th half-century as Test captain while making several beautiful strokes. Babar now shares the fourth-highest number of Test fifties as Pakistan’s captain, matching Javed Miandad in the process (13).
With 35 fifty-plus runs, former captain Misbah-ul-Haq leads the field, followed by Imran Khan with 14.
As Pakistan’s Test captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq has scored 14 fifty-plus runs, while Babar Azam and Miandad have each scored 13. The 31-year-old will overtake Miandad and tie Imran Khan and Inzamam if he also hits a fifty in the second innings.
Imran Khan is surpassed by Babar Azam in the Test batting record.
By the end of Day 2, Babar Azam was still undefeated and had broken Imran Khan’s batting record in addition to matching Miandad. As captain, Babar presently has a Test average of 54.1 (minimum 1000 runs), which is higher than that of players like Salim Malik and Imran Khan.
Highest average as captain for Pakistan in Tests (1000+ runs)
- Babar Azam – 54.1
- Saleem Malik – 52.4
- Imran Khan – 52.3
- Inzamam-ul-Haq – 52.1
- Misbah-ul-Haq – 51.4
The two greatest players in history, Misbah-ul-Haq and Inzamam-ul-Haq, are listed with Imran Khan and Salim Malik.
As Pakistan’s Test captain, Babar Azam’s overall batting record
As Pakistan’s Test captain, Babar Azam has an amazing record. With an average of 54.1, the graceful batsman has already amassed 1894 runs while leading his country in 22 Test matches.
He has a perfect batting record as captain, having hit four hundreds and thirteen fifties in 22 games. In actuality, Babar is at his best when he is captain. His Test average falls to 38.78 when he is not captain, from 54 when he is captain.
As Pakistan’s captain, he has already set multiple records and is currently the fifth-highest run scorer in Test cricket.
On the third day of the second Test match against the West Indies, the batter will bat in an attempt to reach his fifth Test century as the team’s captain.
