Babar equals Steve Smith’s record for third-most half-centuries in WTC history

Babar Azam now has 20 half-centuries in the World Test Championship (WTC), the joint-third most in the competition’s history. He reached the tally after scoring a 68-run knock against Bangladesh during the Sylhet Test. Sharing the record with Australia’s Steve Smith and England’s Zak Crawley, Babar is now just four fifties short of chart leader Marnus Labuschagne.

Babar climbs WTC charts

Babar Azam is also the only Asian batter with more than 3,000 runs in WTC history, with his tally currently standing at 3,197 runs. This comes despite his dry patch across formats, which has been especially prominent in Test cricket, where he has not scored a century since 2022.

He looked comfortable in Sylhet, but such starts, which have followed him often lately, have failed to transform into big scores. Like Babar, Pakistan’s form, both in the Test format and otherwise, has been disappointing. They are staring at another Test series whitewash against Bangladesh, which would make them the first team to lose four consecutive Test matches against the side.

Bangladesh tighten grip on the Test

Bangladesh began the third session on day three with a 350-plus lead after adding 46 runs to their first-innings total.

Most half-centuries in World Test Championship (WTC) history

• Marnus Labuschagne (Australia) – 24
• Joe Root (England) – 22
• Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 20*
• Steve Smith (Australia) – 20
• Zak Crawley (England) – 20

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