Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam has achieved a huge milestone in international cricket and joined legendary Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in this elite list. It is a great achievement for Babar, considered one of the best batsmen Pakistan has ever produced.
Babar achieved this feat during the first Test of the series between South Africa and Pakistan at Centurion. He came in to bat at No. 3 instead of his usual slot at No. 4 in Test cricket.
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Babar Azam becomes the third player to achieve this milestone
During the match, Babar Azam completed 4000 runs in Test cricket. He achieved this feat on his first ball of the match. Babar came into bat after the fall of Pakistan captain Shan Masood.
4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Test runs ✅@btobtortoztometro258 He is only the third player to score more than 4000 runs in all three formats of the game! 🤩👏#YesTOvPTOk pYodo.twYottmyr.doohmetro/qnorthyou4jAND27my8
– Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) dmydomymetrobmyr 26, 2024
First he got a soft looser on the pads which went comfortably through square leg for a four. It was a gift for the former Pakistan captain and he made the most of it by moving the ball towards the boundary.
Babar became the third player in the history of the game to score more than 4000 runs in all formats – Tests, ODIs and T20Is. India’s Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the only other players to have achieved this milestone before.
Babar Azam has already scored 4223 runs in T20Is and close to 6000 runs in ODI cricket. After completing 4000 runs in Tests, he has now joined the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the elite list.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the other two players.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the first two players to score more than 4000 runs in all formats of the game. Both remain active players in Tests and ODIs but retired from the T20I format after the end of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Kohli has scored more than 9000 runs in Tests and almost 14000 runs in ODIs. He finished with 4188 runs in T20Is at an average of 48.69. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has around 11000 runs in ODIs and scored 4289 runs in Tests. The Indian skipper finished as the leading run-scorer in T20Is at the time of his retirement with 4231 runs to his name.
Babar Azam fired for little money
Meanwhile, Babar Azam could have achieved a great feat, but it was not a great day for him with the bat. After hitting a boundary on his first ball, he failed to add any more runs to his tally and was dismissed a few balls later.
The 30-year-old was dismissed for just 4 off 11 balls after playing a loose shot away from his body. Babar pushed a wide delivery away and got an outside edge. The ball found its way to Aiden Markram, who caught it hard.
Babar was absolutely devastated by his shot selection. It was a hesitant push on his part as he was caught in two minds. His wicket meant his poor form continues in Test cricket. This was their comeback match after being dropped from the home test series against England.