Babar Azam Chases Multiple ODI Records in Pak vs SL Series

RAWALPINDI: People still talk about Babar Azam as Pakistan's top batter. He stands right on the verge of several career-defining moments in this 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. The series starts today at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

This 31-year-old right-hander has a strong history against Sri Lanka. He has scored 535 runs over 11 innings. That averages 53.50. It includes 3 centuries already.

If he grabs a 4th century in this series, he would join Mohammad Hafeez and Inzamam ul Haq. They share second place with four centuries each against Sri Lanka.

However, the top spot belongs to Saeed Anwar. He hit 7 hundreds in 52 matches. That record sets the standard for most ODI centuries by a Pakistani against them.

Babar could also surpass Imran Khan in another way. Imran, who led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup win, scored 636 ODI runs against Sri Lanka. Babar needs just 102 more runs in this series to go beyond that. It would add yet another highlight to his record.

On home ground, Babar is close to a fresh milestone too. He has 4,848 international runs in Pakistan so far. His average there sits at 51.57. Only 152 more runs would make him the 4th Pakistani batter to hit 5,000 at home. He would line up alongside Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf.

Babar is one century short of matching Saeed Anwar's record for the most ODI hundreds by a Pakistani. Anwar has 20. Babar has 19 right now.

If Babar gets that 20th century in his next 41 innings, he would rank as the 3rd fastest ever. He would trail only Hashim Amla with 108 innings and Virat Kohli with 133.

Fastest Players to 20 ODI Centuries:

• Hashim Amla – 108 innings
• Virat Kohli – 133 innings
• AB de Villiers – 175 innings
• Rohit Sharma – 183 innings

Pakistan comes into this series feeling good. They just beat South Africa 2-1 in both the T20I and ODI formats. The Test series finished 1 1.

These teams have faced off 157 times in ODIs over the years. Pakistan leads with 93 wins. Sri Lanka has 59.