FAISALABAD: Pakistan star batter Babar Azam on Saturday crossed the 15,000-run milestone in international cricket, becoming only the fifth Pakistani player to achieve the feat.
Babar achieved the milestone during the third ODI and final ODI of the three-match series against South Africa, underway at the Iqbal Stadium, when he worked Bjorn Fortuin for a single towards the wide mid-on to score his 23rd run.
The single took his runs tally in international cricket to 15,000, and the 31-year-old, as a result, became just the fifth Pakistani to amass the milestone, joining the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad.
Notably, former captain Inzamam leads the list of most international runs by Pakistan batters with 20,541 in 547 innings, followed by Younis with 17,790, Yousuf with 17,134 and Miandad with 16,213.
Inzamam-ul-Haq – 20,541 runs in 547 innings
Younis Khan – 17,790 runs in 491 innings
Mohammad Yousuf – 17,134 runs in 426 innings
Javed Miandad – 16,213 in 407 innings
Babar Azam – 15,004 runs in 370 innings
Notably, Babar could not convert his decent start with the bat into a big knock and had an agonising end to his stay at the crease as he was run out after scoring 27 off 32 deliveries, comprising five boundaries.
His dismissal came at a crucial juncture as Pakistan were recovering from a dismal start, which saw left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman getting dismissed for a second consecutive duck.