Babar Azam becomes 3rd fastest to reach 11 ODI hundreds, beats Kohli

Pakistan batsman Babar Azam recently surpassed India captain Virat Kohli to become the third-fastest cricketer to reach 11 ODI hundreds. Babar Azam achieved this milestone while playing the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Karachi. It took 71 innings for Babar to achieve this feat, while Kohli needed 82 innings. South Africa’s Hashim Amla is still the quickest to reach 11 ODI hundreds, it took him only 64 innings. After Amla, his teammate Quinton de Kock is second in the list, taking 65 innings to reach 11 ODI hundreds. 

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Azam smashed his second ODI hundred against Sri Lanka on Monday. He also became the first Pakistani player to smash more than 1000 runs in a year. Not only that, Babar Azam became the fastest Pakistan player to score 1000 runs in a calendar year. While doing so, he broke the record held by former Pakistan player Javed Miandad. It took Azam 19 innings to score 1000 runs, while Miandad took more than 20 innings to do the same. After Miandad, Mohammed Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq share the third spot on the list, both took 23 innings to make 1000 runs in a calendar year. 

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However, Azam has a lot to do before truly surpassing the Indian skipper. Virat Kohli is claimed to be one of the greatest batsmen to have ever played the game by many fans. Kohli is the second cricketer to smash more than 40 ODI hundreds. He has also smashed 25 Test centuries in his short but explosive career. Babar Azam, on the other hand, has smashed only one hundred in his 21-match Test career. The 25-year-old Pakistani batsman earlier revealed that Virat Kohli inspires him and he learns a lot by watching him. He observes how Virat plays according to the situation and he watches every innings of his. 

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