Babar breaks Miandad’s record as highest run-getter in WC

LONDON: There was this silky touch that’s the hallmark of a batting genius. His 11 sweetly-timed boundaries brought the Pakistani fans at Lord’s to their feet. Babar Azam, on Friday, once again showed why he is one of the few silver linings in Pakistan’s otherwise disappointing World Cup campaign.The Pakistanis, needing a miracle to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals, were looking on shaky ground against Bangladesh when the in-form Babar walked in. They were 23-1 in 7.2 overs having just lost the out-of-form Fakhar Zaman for a 31-ball 13. Pakistan knew that they needed to win the match by a whopping margin when they opted to bat after winning the toss.But after Fakhar’s initial struggles, it seemed as if even a normal win by an average margin would be tough for Pakistan to achieve against a highly-improved Bangladesh team.Babar, however, changed the complexion of the Pakistani innings. His effortless batting was a treat for the fans and was the prime reason why even Imam-ul-Haq got into his element. Together the two put on 157 runs for the second wicket. Together with Imam, who hit a run-a-ball 100, Babar helped propel Pakistan.It was way short of what Pakistan needed to qualify for the World Cup semis but was sufficient enough to put them on the path to scoring a sizeable total in their last group game.In the process, Babar broke yet another record when he surpassed the legendary Javed Miandad as the highest run-getter in a World Cup. Miandad had amassed 437 runs from nine World Cup matches in the 1992 edition of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Miandad scored five fifties in the World Cup, playing a key role in Pakistan’s title-winning campaign.Babar, 24, was unable to lift Pakistan’s World Cup campaign but was by far their brightest batting star. He piled up 474 runs from eight matches (Pakistan’s game against Sri Lanka was washed out) at an average of 59.25. He scored a century (101 not out against New Zealand) and three fifties in the World Cup.

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