NEW DELHI: Pakistani batter Babar Azam on Thursday achieved a remarkable milestone by joining an exclusive group of cricketers who have accumulated over 4,000 runs across all three international cricket formats.
Following his exclusion from the England series, Babar made his Test comeback against South Africa in Centurion. However, his return produced mixed results. While achieving a historic milestone, his performance was cut short as he edged the ball to Aiden Markram in the slips, managing only 4 runs.
Despite the brief stay at the crease, this innings held special significance. Babar became the third international cricketer to cross the 4,000-run mark in all three formats, following the accomplishments of Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
His career statistics are impressive: 4,001 Test runs from 56 matches at 43.49, including nine hundreds and 26 fifties.
In ODIs, the 30-year-old has accumulated 5,957 runs across 123 matches, averaging 56.73 with 19 centuries and 34 fifties. His T20I record shows 4,223 runs in 128 matches at 39.84, featuring three centuries and 36 fifties.
Pakistan's situation worsened after his dismissal in the opening session, with wickets falling regularly. Saud Shakeel, showing aggressive intent, was soon dismissed after gloving a delivery to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne, scoring 14 runs from six deliveries. This left Pakistan struggling at 56/4.
