PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam breaks Mohammad Yousuf’s 16-year-old record in first test
Babar Azam broke Mohammad Yousuf’s 16-year-old record of scoring most runs in a calendar year on the opening day of the First Test against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday 26 December.
Babar now holds the record for most runs scored in a calendar year by a Pakistani batsman, surpassing Mohd. Yousuf. While Yosuf had stacked 2435 runs in the year 2006, the right-handed batter now has more than 2500 runs in various formats in 2022.
Most runs per Pakistani player in a calendar year:
| Rank | Player | Matches | Runs | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babar Azam | 44 | 2477 | 2022 |
| 2 | Muhammad Yousuf | 33 | 2435 | 2006 |
| 3 | Saeed Anwar | 43 | 2296 | 1996 |
| 4 | Muhammad Yousuf | 41 | 2226 | 2002 |
| 5 | Inzamam-ul-Haq | 46 | 2164 | 2000 |
| 6 | Babar Azam | 36 | 2082 | 2019 |
| 7 | Misbah-ul-Haq | 42 | 2078 | 2013 |
| 8 | Muhammad Yousuf | 53 | 2000 | 2000 |
| 9 | Yunis Khan | 48 | 1947 | 2002 |
| 10 | Mohammed Rizwan | 44 | 1915 | 2021 |
The Lahore-born American posted a sensational century in the running Test, which is also his fourth Test century this year, and overall the ninth century in the game’s longest form. His combative knock has also seen him become the leading run-getter in Test cricket in 2022, surpassing Joe Root.
Most runs in a calendar year:
| Rank | Player | Matches | Runs | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricky Ponting | 46 | 2833 | 2005 |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | 46 | 2818 | 2017 |
| 3 | Kumar Sangakara | 47 | 2813 | 2014 |
| 4 | Virat Kohli | 37 | 2735 | 2018 |
| 5 | Can Williamson | 39 | 2692 | 2015 |
| 6 | Ricky Ponting | 45 | 2657 | 2003 |
| 7 | Rahul Dravid | 53 | 2626 | 1999 |
| 8 | Kumar Sangakara | 50 | 2609 | 2006 |
| 9 | Virat Kohli | 37 | 2595 | 2016 |
| 10 | Sourav Ganguly | 51 | 2580 | 1999 |
| 11 | Joe Carrot | 41 | 2570 | 2016 |
| 12 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 42 | 2568 | 2009 |
| 13 | Sachin Tendulkar | 39 | 2541 | 1998 |
| 14 | Angel Matthews | 52 | 2530 | 2014 |
| 15 | Babar Azam | 44 | 2477 | 2022 |
| 16 | Virat Kohli | 44 | 2455 | 2019 |
The 28-year-old also shattered the record held by legendary batsman Inzamam ul Haq, who, as Pakistan’s captain, had scored the most fifties in Test cricket in a calendar year (10 in 1995, 2000 and 2005). Babar Azam now has 11 fifty-plus scores in red-ball cricket this year.
Babar Azam – Sarfaraz Ahmed Record partnership
Babar Azam came on the crease as Pakistan languished on 19 for the loss of two wickets after opting to bat first over Karachi. They desperately needed a partnership and the Pakistani captain arrived at the right time, forging a crucial 62-run partnership with Saud Shakeel.
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The Pakistan captain received a lot of help from former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who made his first test appearance after almost four years, having last played against South Africa in 2019. The pair have posted an unbeaten partnership of 153 runs while reporting.
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