PAK vs NZ: Pakistan is taking on New Zealand in the first test of the two-match series at the National Stadium, Karachi. The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first. Pakistan didn’t have a great start to their first inning and lost their first four wickets for 110 in 28.6 overs. But after that, Pakistani skipper Babar Azam and former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was making his comeback after almost two years, added a big partnership for the fifth wicket.
Both batters added 196 runs for the fifth wicket to take Pakistan past the 300-run mark. Sarfaraz was unfortunate to miss a well-deserved century and got out for 86 with nine boundaries. Meanwhile, Babar Azam continued his purple patch by scoring his ninth century in test cricket. As per the latest scorecard, he has also crossed 150 runs.
PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam breaks multiple records with his century vs NZ in 1st Test at Karachi
Notably, after facing a 3-0 whitewash at home at the hands of England earlier this month, Babar Azam faced a lot of criticism from many former cricketers, experts, and fans. And he has answered them brilliantly with a century in the first Test against New Zealand. During his inning, he registered a brilliant record. He now holds the record for most runs and most half-centuries in a calendar year for Pakistan. He also broke the record of former Pakistani star Mohammad Yousuf’s tally of 2435 runs across formats in 2006.
Babar Azam has scored 2584 runs in 2022 across all three formats, which is a new record for a Pakistani batter. With this half-century, he also overtook former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting‘s tally of 24 fifty-plus scores in 2005. Babar has registered 25 Fifty-Plus Scores in 2022 across all three formats. Despite a brilliant performance in the longest format for Pakistan, the team hasn’t performed well. Babar is one of three players to score over 1,000 Test runs in 2022. Pakistan ended Day 1 of the first test against New Zealand at 317/5, with the Pakistani skipper unbeaten on 161.