Babar Azam slams his 33rd half-century in ODIs: Key stats
What's the story
Pakistan cricket team stalwart, Babar Azam, smashed a fine 73-run knock versus South Africa in the 2nd ODI at Newlands, Cape Town on Thursday.
The senior batter arrived to the crease early on and added 48 runs alongside Saim Ayub.
Another 115-run stand was stitched alongside Mohammad Rizwan. Babar was dismissed in the 33rd over with Pakistan being at 168/3.
Here's more.
Knock
A quality knock from Babar's blade
Abdullah Shafique departed early on which meant Babar's entry at the crease. He took his time early on before settling down.
He ended up facing 95 balls in a knock that had 7 fours. Babar was dismissed by Andile Phehlukwayo while trying to up the ante.
He was caught at mid-wicket after hitting a short ball.
Babar and Rizwan showed their mettle.
Runs
Babar averages 60.81 versus SA in ODIs
Babar's 73 takes him to a tally of 5,905 runs at 56.77. In addition to 33 half-centuries, he owns 19 hundreds.
In 13 matches versus South Africa, Babar has raced to 669 runs at 60.81. He slammed his 5th fifty versus SA (100s: 1).
As per ESPNcricinfo, Babar is closing in on 2,500 away ODI runs (2,439) at 51.89 (100s: 6, 50s: 13).
Information
9,000 runs in List A cricket for Babar
During the course of his knock, Babar raced past 9,000 runs in List A cricket. He reached the 9,000-run mark with his 22nd run. He hit his 52nd fifty in List A cricket (100s: 30').