Babar Azam smashes 6th century in T20 cricket, goes past Virat Kohli and equals Rohit Sharma’s feat

Another day and another milestone for Babar Azam! The Pakistan captain has truly become a record-breaking machine. On Thursday (September 30), the right-handed batter added yet another feather to his hat, scoring his sixth century in T20 cricket. Leading Central Punjab, Azam scored 105 off 63 deliveries against Northern in the ongoing National T20 Cup 2021.  Although this knock couldn’t take Central Punjab to victory, it shattered many records.

Azam now has six centuries in the 20-over format, most by any Pakistan player. The 27-year-old went past the tally of Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal who had scored 5 tons each. The Pakistan international now also has joint-most T20 centuries among Asian players. He’s holding the pinnacle position alongside India’s Rohit Sharma. Notably, Virat Kohli has five centuries in the format. Hence, Azam has even surpassed his Indian counterpart on the list.

Most T20 centuries among Asians:

Unlike most of the successful batters in the 20-over format, Azam doesn’t have a reputation of being a dasher. However, he scores run consistently at the top and changes gears as the game progresses. He was also the top-ranked T20I batter for a good period of time. As far as his numbers are concerned, Azam has slammed 6984 runs in 185 innings. Besides six three-figure scores, Azam has as many as 58 half-centuries under his belt.

Coming to his knock against Northern, Azam opened the innings alongside Ahmed Shehzad while batting first. With the Rawalpindi track being fresh, the Punjab-based side got off to a stellar start with both openers looking in fine touch. Azam held himself in the initial part of the game but shifted gears as time progressed. Facing the likes of Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf, Azam scored runs all over the park and smashed a stunning knock.

His 105-run knock was studded with 11 boundaries and three sixes. Riding on his brilliance, the Punjab-based side posted 200/2. However, Azam’s efforts went in vain as Punjab bowlers couldn’t come to the party. Youngster Haider Ali scored an unbeaten 91 as Northern clinched the contest by six wickets.