Babar Azam’s top 3 knocks in T20I Cricket

Babar Azam is one of the best batters currently. The Pakistani batter has some amazing numbers to his name in the shortest format of the game. The stats speak for themselves as far as Babar is concerned. Against some of the best teams in the world, Babar has played quality knocks. Pakistan is not that good a batting side, which makes the records of Babar a lot more impressive. 

Post-pandemic, Azam has played some of the best knocks in the shorter formats. The batter from Pakistan has hit three hundreds in T20 internationals. All of them came against the SEN teams (South Africa, England, and New Zealand). These hundreds also happen to be the best knocks of Babar in his T20I career. In all those matches, Babar was phenomenal in the middle. 

122 vs South Africa (2021)

It was the third T20I of the series against South Africa in Centurion. On a good batting surface, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the 20 overs, South Africa posted a very good total of 203 runs on the board. In 40 balls, Janneman Malan scored 55 runs. Aiden Markram scored 63 runs in 31 balls. George Linde, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, and Andile Phehlukwayo played good cameos for South Africa. 

Chasing 204, Babar was in total control of the run chase. With good support from Mohammad Rizwan from the other end, Azam went bonkers against South Africa. In his stay in the middle, Babar scored an unbeaten 122*(59), which included 15 fours and 4 sixes. The knock of Babar came against an attack consisting of George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Lizaard Williams, Tarbaiz Shamsi, and Sisanda Magala. 

110* vs England (2022)

It was the 2nd T20I of the series between Pakistan and England. On a good batting surface in Karachi, England batted first and scored 199 runs in their 20 overs. Ben Duckett scored 43 runs in 22 balls. Harry Brook scored 31 runs in 19 balls. Moeen Ali scored 55 runs in 23 balls. Pakistan chased the target in style. The duo of Rizwan and Babar chased the target without any loss of wicket. It was a dominating chase by the duo.

Rizwan scored an unbeaten 88*(51), which included 5 fours and 4 sixes. Babar scored an unbeaten 110 runs in 66 balls, which included 11 fours and 5 sixes. Against an attack consisting of David Willey, Liam Dawson, Sam Curran, Luke Wood, Adil Rashid, and Moeen Ali, Pakistan won the match by 10 wickets. Babar and Rizwan anchored the chase well and gave no chance to the English bowlers. 

101* vs New Zealand (2023)

It was the 2nd T20I of the series between Pakistan and England. On a flat deck in Lahore, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Rizwan and Babar were at the bowlers yet again. The duo framed a 99-run stand for the opening wicket. The track was a bit on the slower side, especially with the progression of the innings. But the duo batted well and took the game away from New Zealand. Rizwan scored 50 runs in 34 balls. Iftikhar scored 33 runs in 19 balls.

But it was Babar who stole the show with his batting. The Pakistani captain scored 101 runs in 58 balls, which included 11 fours and 3 sixes. Against an attack consisting of Matt Henry, Henry Shipley, Benjamin Lister, James Neesham, and Rachin Ravindra, Babar scored his third T20I hundred. Chasing the target, New Zealand succumbed to pressure and managed to score only 154 runs. Haris Rauf was sensational with the ball and claimed 4 wickets.