News ECG: Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam, who was also named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2022, took home the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy on Thursday. In 2022, Babar Azam set even higher standards for himself, setting more records while making sure Pakistan’s light shone brightly.
Babar went through that mark by amassing a massive 2598 runs at a menacing average of 54.12. In all formats, he was the only player to score more than 2000 runs during the whole calendar year.
Babar’s collection of 817 fifties during the year was the best of his career yet, and there’s no denying the powerful right-hander is at the top of his form right now. The ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022, who amassed 679 runs in nine matches, dominated the 50-over format.
He consistently scored 50 or more, as evidenced by the eight innings where he did so. Given that the 28-year-old continues to hold the top spot in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, it was not unexpected that he was awarded the ICC Men’s ODI Player of the Year for a second consecutive year.
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Despite his team’s inconsistent performance, Babar also had a terrific year in Test cricket. He did most of Pakistan’s heavy lifting in the lengthier format, scoring 1184 runs in just nine games. Due to Pakistan winning all three ODI series they played in and only dropping one game out of nine to Australia, Babar’s year as captain in the white-ball formats was exceptionally impressive.
Since Babar’s team placed second to eventual victor England in the T20I format in 2009, he guided Pakistan to their first Men’s T20 World Cup final. When Pakistan was staring defeat in the face during the second Test match in Karachi, only one man stood between Australia and victory.
Pakistan was dismissed for 148 runs in the first innings, handing Australia a commanding 408-run advantage. With just over six sessions remaining, the visitors batted once more, this time setting a goal of 506 runs.
When Pakistan got off to the worst possible start by losing two wickets, they still had five sessions left and only 21 runs on the scoreboard. Babar Azam’s arrival set off a grueling 10-hour marathon that almost saved Pakistan from defeat.
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