In the first match of the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan’s best hitter, Babar Azam, hit a century against Nepal. He beat South Africa’s Hashim Amla’s record by one run.
The captain of the Pakistan team got 100 runs by hitting 10 fours. This was his 19th century in a one-day international (ODI).
The ODI World No. 1 @babarazam258 starts #AsiaCup2023 with a splendid century 💯🔥
Will he take Pakistan to a formidable total?
Tune-in to #AsiaCupOnStar, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network & Disney+ Hotstar#PAKvNEP #Cricket pic.twitter.com/pMGTKMQ2f2
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 30, 2023
Babar did this by hitting 19 tonnes in the 102nd inning of the first Asia Cup game, which is being played against Nepal at the Multan Cricket Stadium right now.
🌟 𝐂 𝐋 𝐀 𝐒 𝐒 🌟@babarazam258 notches up his second score of 1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ in ODIs 👏#PAKvNEP | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/vGIP7bhcdp
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 30, 2023
Amla’s record of 19 centuries in 104 games was broken.
In the 97th game, the Pakistan leader had already hit his 18th century. He is the first hitter to hit 18 hundreds in fewer than 100 games.
Babar got his 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17th hundreds in the fewest number of innings. He got his first ten hundreds in only 68 innings, and then he got his next nine hundreds in just 34 innings.
Most runs in an ODI career after 102 games.
Babar Azam of Pakistan: 5,353
Hashim Amla of South Africa: 5,165
Viv Richards of the West Indies—4,624
Joe Root of England: 4,480
Shai Hope of the West Indies — 4,465
Shikhar Dhawan of India: 4,401
Aima Baig and Nepali Singer Set to Perform at Asia Cup 2023
Playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wicketkeeper), Rohit Paudel (captain), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi.