Babar Azam TOPS Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Records With Match-Winning Ton Vs NZ In 2nd T20I

Pakistan captain stroked a blistering ton in the 2nd T20I vs New Zealand to help Men in Greeb Beat Blackcaps and take 2-0 lead in five-match series.

Source: Twitter

Babar Azam stormed back to his best in the 2nd T20I vs New Zealand in Lahore as he struck a brilliant 101 off just 58 balls to record his third century in the format. His innings included 11 fours and 3 sixes respectively. Not to forget, Babar remained not out in the end. Babar had a poor outing in the 100th T20I for Pakistan as he had scored just nine runs in the first match. But Babar arrived with a mission in the 2nd T20I and looked to attack from the word go. The fact that he finished with a strike rate of 174.14 must have made him happy.

Pakistan took a 2-0 lead in the 5-match T20I series on Saturday night with a 38-run win. Babar, in the process to get to his 101, also broke some records. Let's look at some of them here. 

__ What makes Babar so consistent and when did he start to believe he would get to his _ _

Presenting "the most awaited" chat between @simadwasim and __ skipper @babarazam258 _#PAKvNZ | #CricketMubarak pic.twitter.com/JG8ZeBur6d — Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) April 15, 2023

Babar goes past Rohit

This was Babar's third century in T20Is, and all of them have come as captain. India captain Rohit Sharma has four centuries in T20Is. But as captain, Babar, with 3 tons, has more than Rohit. Overall, Babar is joint second in list of most hundreds in T20Is alongside Australia's Glenn Maxwell, New Zealand's Colin Munro and India's Suryakumar Yadav. 

Babar tops Virat's number too

Overall in T20s, Babar Azam has scored 9 centuries. He is second to Chris Gayle, who has most tons in the format, including domestic and internationals. As captain in T20s, remember not T20Is, this was Babar's 6th hundred. He went past both Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli who have scored 5 T20 hundreds as captain.

PAK vs NZ 2nd T20I Highlights

Babar won the toss in the 2nd T20I and opted to bat first. He backed his decision by smashing a century. Pakistan eventually posted 192 for 4 in 20 overs. Mohammad Rizwan's 50 off 34 balls was also crucial in taking his side to the winning total. New Zealand could manage just 154 for 7 in 20 overs, losing the match by 38 runs. Mark Chapman top scored with 65 off 40 balls. 

In his post match thoughts, Babar said that he was elated to see the second successive win in the series as well as with his own performance. "I am very happy with my performance in this match. There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on but Rizwan and myself saw that period through, built a partnership and then Iftikhar and myself finished it off," said Babar.