PAK vs SA 1st Test: Babar Azam Becomes First Pakistani to Cross 3,000 Runs in World Test Championship
Babar Azam hasn’t been playing at his best lately. Over the last three years in Test cricket, he has averaged only 24.52. But despite this rough patch, Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam reached a big milestone in the World Test Championship (WTC) during the first Test against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday. He needed just two runs before the match and he went past 3,000 runs in WTC history, becoming the first Pakistani and the eighth player overall to reach this amazing achievement.
Babar Azam achieved this milestone in his 37th Test, having already made 18 fifties and eight hundreds in the World Test Championship. Only a few other players have scored more than 3,000 runs in the WTC, including England’s Zak Crawley (3,041), Ben Stokes (3,616) and Joe Root (6,080), with Root holding the record for the most runs in the Championship.
The elite list also includes four Australian players: Steve Smith (4,278), Marnus Labuschagne (4,225), Travis Head (3,300), and Usman Khawaja (3,288). At the time, Pakistan were 180 for 2 in 51 overs, with Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq batting. Opener Abdullah Shafique was out in the first over after scoring just two runs. After that, captain Shan Masood and Imam put on a 161-run partnership for the second wicket. The partnership ended when Shan Masood was dismissed by Prenelan Subrayen for 76 runs off 147 balls, which included nine fours and one six.
Babar Azam was dismissed for 23 in Pakistan’s first Test against South Africa in Lahore. He had been unbeaten earlier and was on track to overtake England’s Zak Crawley in WTC runs, but a big lbw appeal off Harmer’s delivery went in South Africa’s favor after review. The ball struck his thigh pad, UltraEdge showed no bat contact, and ball-tracking confirmed it would hit the stumps, leaving fans in Lahore shocked as Pakistan lost their first wicket of the session without adding any runs.
Most Runs in World Test Championship History
Player | Country | Matches | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
Joe Root | ENG | 69 | 6080 |
Steve Smith | AUS | 55 | 4278 |
Marnus Labuschagne | AUS | 53 | 4225 |
Ben Stokes | ENG | 57 | 3616 |
Travis Head | AUS | 52 | 3300 |
Usman Khawaja | AUS | 43 | 3288 |
Zak Crawley | ENG | 52 | 3041 |
Babar Azam | PAK | 37 | 3003 |
Top 10 Asian Run-Scorers in ICC World Test Championship History
Player | Country | Matches | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
Babar Azam | PAK | 37 | 3021 |
Shubman Gill | IND | 39 | 2826 |
Rishabh Pant | IND | 38 | 2731 |
Rohit Sharma | IND | 40 | 2716 |
Dimuth Karunaratne
| SL | 35 | 2642 |
Virat Kohli | IND | 46 | 2617 |
Dhananjaya de Silva | SL | 35 | 2509 |
Ravindra Jadeja | IND | 46 | 2505 |
Yashasvi Jaiswal | IND | 26 | 2420 |
Dinesh Chandimal | SL | 32 | 2340 |
