Babar Azam Joins 4,000-Run Club in All Formats

Babar Azam in Test Cricket: Babar Azam returns to red-ball cricket during the Boxing Day Test between Pakistan and South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday, December 26.

While he could not end his lean patch in the longest format, the former Pakistan captain managed to join only two other cricketers to join an elusive list.

Babar Azam Reaches 4,000 Runs in All Formats

Babar scored just four runs before being dismissed in the first session on the first day. However, he became only the third player to score more than 4,000 runs in all three formats of the game in the international circuit.

He joins current India captain Rohit Sharma and his compatriot Virat Kohli with over 4,000 runs in all three formats.

Babar has so far scored 4,001 runs in 56 Tests, 5,957 runs in 123 ODIs and 4,223 runs in 128 T20Is.

After the first Test against England, Babar was dropped from Pakistan’s red-ball setup. He went through a long dry patch in the format. He made a comeback on Thursday but his innings lasted just 11 balls. Babar gets a visit from Corbin Bosh on his first delivery as he hits a juicy full-toss through his pads through square leg.

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Pakistan’s Struggles on Day 1

In the first Test of the two-match Test series, Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to field first. Pakistan openers Shan Masood and Saim Ayub did their best to see the new ball but were out after a 36-run partnership in consecutive overs.

From 36/0, the tourists slumped to 56/4 as Bosh and Patterson took a breather. Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan put on a much-needed partnership of 81 runs and the former batsman was dismissed for 54 runs. Rizwan also dropped out immediately as Pakistan was once again in dire straits.

Salman Ali Agha and Amer Jamal put on a counter-attacking partnership of 47 runs off 53 balls to take Pakistan close to 200 runs. However, three wickets fell in quick succession as Pakistan looked down the barrel at 189/9.

Abbas Afridi and Khurram Shahzad put on an unbeaten 20-run partnership to take Pakistan to 209/9 at the tea break on the first day. Patterson took five wickets for 61 runs in 16 overs. Meanwhile, Bosh has taken four wickets in 15 overs.