Pakistan star batter Babar Azam on Saturday contributed yet another shining page to his long and brilliant career as he became the fifth Pakistani who had scored 15,000 international cricket runs.
The 31 year old reached the mark in the 3rd and third match of a 3 match series against the South Africans at Iqbal stadium in Faisalabad. Babar scored his landmark at a time when he forced a delivery by Bjorn Fortuin at mid-on to a single which resulted in his 23rd delivery of the innings.
So, Babar became one of a select few whose names were included in the list of the cricketing legends of Pakistan which included Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad. Inzamam has 20,541 runs which are the highest in the national charts, followed by Younis (17,790), Yousuf (17,134) and Miandad (16,213).
Although the milestone was reached, the duration of Babar at the crease was cut short with disappointing results as he was run out at 27 out of the 32 balls with 5 boundaries in the innings. His sacking was at a very critical stage in Pakistan who were recovering after a sluggish beginning that had Fakhar Zaman sacked after a second consecutive duck.
Pakistan were 73-2 in 13 against them with Saim Ayub not out on 39 and Mohammad Rizwan on 5. The hosts only needed 71 runs in 37 overs, and eight wickets remaining to take the series 2-1.
The success of Babar also makes him one of the greats of world cricket in the modern times. Consistent, elegant, stroke play, and a leader, the last accomplishment of Babar can be described as a sign of his longevity and his constant thirst to run. Having a few years in the prime, the right-hander can easily be counted among the all time greats of Pakistan and move a step nearer to the incredible record of Inzamam.
