Azhar Ali's rise since his debut in 2010 has been quite exciting to watch.

He is not the most pleasing batsman to watch; much like the way he accumulates his runs one requires a lot of patience to sit through an Azhar Ali Test innings. For the traditional fans, it is a treat really.

Azhar Ali made his 50th test match truly memorable with a monumental triple century and reaching the landmark of 4,000 test runs.

After Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Younis Khan, Azhar Ali became the 4th batsman from Pakistan to hit a triple hundred. After Hanif Mohammad, he is only the second opener from Pakistan to achieve this feat.

He also became the first batsman since Hanif Mohammad to score a triple hundred against the West Indies; 58 years after the feat achieved by the original Little Master.

Azhar now holds the record for the highest test score ever in the UAE and at the Dubai Cricket Stadium; he also became the first batsman to score a hundred, double hundred, and triple hundred in a day night test match.

His 302* will probably remain the highest score in a day night test for a long long time. I am willing to place a wager on that! You can visit www.gamblingsitesonline.org to find the best odds before placing your bets.

Besides all this, there were a number of milestones Azhar achieved during his monumental knock.

4,000 Test Runs

He became the 10th batsman from Pakistan to reach the 4,000 run landmark in tests. Among the 10 batsmen, he took the least amount of time - 6 years and 92 days and second least number of matches - 50.

 In terms of innings however, Azhar took a few more than Miandad, Younis, Saeed, Zaheer, and Yousuf.

Leading Run Scorers in Tests Since July 2010

During the period since his debut, Azhar is the second highest run scorer from Pakistan and among the 10 leading run scorers in tests in the world.

Well ahead the likes of Kohli and AB De Villiers.

Highest Average in 2016

Azhar's unbeaten triple hundred not only placed him among the leading run scorers in test cricket this year, but also placed him right at the top with the highest test batting average this year.

One of the Best Number 3 from Pakistan

Now that Azhar has become Pakistan's test opener, he may no longer be able to break Younis Khan's record for most runs scored for Pakistan in tests from the number 3 position. But the fact that he sits in second place behind King Khan is nothing short of a great achievement.

Now that Azhar Ali is opening for Pakistan in tests, he may become their leading run scorer as an opener in tests. He has already knocked 500 runs in 8 innings as a test opener and it won't be long before he becomes the first opener from Pakistan to score 4,000 test runs.

By picking up his 100th test match wicket in the first test against the West Indies, Yasir Shah reached the landmark in just his 17th test match.

Only one bowler, George Lohmann, got there faster, while three other bowlers, Barnes, Turner, and Grimmett took the same number of matches. Yasir is the second spinner after Grimmett to achieve the feat in just 17 tests.


Not only did Yasir create a new Pakistan record, which was previously held by Saeed Ajmal (19 tests), he also created a new Asian record by getting there faster than India's Ravi Ashwin, who picked up his 100th test wicket in his 18th test.

Before the start of Pakistan's first test against the West Indies, Ashwin tweeted a good luck message to Yasir Shah, who was on the verge of breaking the Asian record.


Ashwin has recently been very gracious towards the Pakistanis. He also tweeted about wanting to watch Babar Azam bat.

After Yasir created the new record, Ashwin tweeted a congratulatory message as well.


While Yasir thanked Ashwin for his tweets, he also said that he would love to play against him in a test, which ended up stirring a debate among the public on who the better spinner is.

I also had a discussion on the same with a friend from across the border, who obviously thought that Yasir was no where close to Ashwin.

I don't hold that against him for Ashwin is currently the number 1 ranked bowler in test cricket and he also created a new Asian record by picking up his 200th test wicket in his 37th test, breaking Waqar Younis' record of reaching the landmark in 38 tests.

However, the best way to compare Yasir and Ashwin is to probably assess their performances at the same stage of their careers - 17 tests.


Not taking anything away from Ashwin, but Yasir does have more wickets at a better average and strike rate than Ashwin after 17 tests.

Currently, Ashwin has 220 wickets from 39 tests, so his 20 odd tests after the first 17 have definitely been better in terms of performance, but there is no way to tell which way Yasir Shah will go in his next 20 tests.

Given that India and the UAE are fortresses for the two great bowlers, I wanted to compare their performances away from home as well.


While Yasir's performance in tests away from home is quite similar to his overall record, there is quite a huge discrepancy in Ashwin's record.

Based on the above, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that majority of Ashwin's success has been driven by the dust bowls produced in India.

70% of Ashwin's wickets have come in India; he gives 9 runs less to pick up a wicket in India; and he bowls 13 fewer deliveries for a wicket in India.

Those are eye opening numbers.

Whether Ashwin would have taken as many wickets as he has if he was not playing tests in India is anybody's guess.

My guess is NO.

On the other hand, Yasir Shah has not played a single test in Pakistan. His success is built as much in the UAE as it is on foreign shores.

Sure Ashwin is the number 1 ranked bowler in tests, but Yasir is ahead of him at the 17-test mark, and Yasir is ahead of him in terms of overseas performance.

Taking nothing away from Ashwin's achievements, I wanted to close this debate by mentioning that Ashwin is the same bowler that Afridi hit for two sixes in the final over of the Asia Cup match in 2014 to take Pakistan to victory !

I will revisit this comparison when Yasir picks up his 200th test wicket; we will surely have a more clearer picture then, but for now, I am signing off by picking Yasir ahead of Ashwin.

Pakistan have now extended their winning streak to 8 international matches following the 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies in the ODI series.

The whitewash also helped Pakistan improve their ODI ranking to 8, making their path to the World Cup in 2019 a little bit easier.


Pakistan's impressive limited overs performances over the past month has got a lot to do with a new look top order comprising Azhar Ali, Sharjeel Khan, and Babar Azam in ODIs and the latter two with Khalid Latif in T20s.

Babar Azam especially has been extremely special. His batting has been so magical that it has entertained our neighbors as well.


Babar created a number of records during this series and is also on the verge of creating some others. Here is a look at what Babar has managed to do in his young ODI career.

1. Most ODI Runs after 18 innings

Babar has now scored 886 runs in 18 ODI innings. That is the highest tally for any ODI batsman ever, breaking Sir Viv Richards' tally of 883 runs in as many innings.

That is some name to be mentioned with in the same sentence.

2. Third Consecutive ODI Hundred

Only two batsmen from Pakistan, Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar, and 5 other international batsmen, had managed this feat before Babar Azam.

He is now the 8th batsman to do so and the second youngest after Quinton de Kock.

Babar's tally of 360 is the second highest, after Gibb's 385 for 3 consecutive centuries in ODIs.


It is quite amusing to see India's name appear so many times in this table above.

3. Most Runs in a 3-match ODI Series

Babar's 360 runs in the 3 ODIs against the West Indies broke Quinton de Kock's record of the most runs score in a 3-match ODI series.


4. Fastest to 3 ODI Centuries for Pakistan

Nasir Jamshed scored his 3rd ODI hundred in his 21st innings. Saeed Anwar had done so in his 33rd.

Babar has done the same in 18 ODI innings. getting there faster than any other batsman from Pakistan.

5. Fastest to 1,000 ODI Runs

The fastest to the feat have been Sir Viv Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, and Quinton de Kock, who got there in 21 ODI innings.

With Babar only 114 runs away from the 1,000 run mark, he can break this record if he gets there in his next 2 ODI innings. He can equal it if he takes 3 innings for another 114 ODI runs.

I reckon he can get there in his next innings!

For perspective, it took Virat Kohli 24 innings.




Babar is not the only one who created records during this series against the West Indies.

Pakistan's ODI captain, Azhar Ali, who produced his third ODI century in the final match of the series after disappointing in the first 2 ODIs, became the first captain from Pakistan to score 3 ODI centuries.


I was quite surprised at this given that batsmen like Javed Miandad and Inzamam Ul Haq have captained Pakistan in many ODIs.

It is shocking to note that Javed Miandad never scored an ODI century while captaining Pakistan.

Inzamam's and Shahid Afridi's two centuries as captain were the highest tally before Azhar's third.

Extraordinary!

Exciting times for Pakistan's ODI cricket with Babar Azam batting like a master and Azhar Ali leading them to clean sweeps and a notch higher in the rankings.

Pakistan has now won 7 international matches in a row, a streak that started with the win in the final ODI against England and includes a T20 win against England, 3 T20 wins against West Indies, and 2 ODI wins against West Indies.

Considering that this streak is in white ball cricket, it is even more commendable given the dire straits Pakistan's limited overs teams have been in for the past few years.

Moreover, don't forget that those results include dominating victories over both the World T20 finalists!

For skeptics who will turn around and say that they are only winning in the UAE against a weak West Indies side, let me remind you that the first 2 wins of this 7 match streak came in England, including a first ever chase of a 300+ total outside Asia, while the same "weak" West Indies was just beating Australia and South Africa at home a month and a half ago.

So no, you skeptics cannot take the sweetness away from these wins.

The Pakistan Under-19 Link

The best part about these wins is that the players at the forefront have been Pakistan's newest young crop of talent; the likes of Sarfraz Ahmed, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, and Hassan Ali.

It is after ages that Pakistan has got a bunch of talented youngsters in their team at the same time.

In the early 90s, we witnessed the likes of Waqar Younis, Aqib Javed, Inzamam Ul Haq, Aamer Sohail, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Moin Khan form a core group of young talent within Pakistan's ranks.

The late 90s saw Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan do the same.

Since then Pakistan have sporadically introduced talent, but never in a group like now.

You know the one common link between those stars introduced in the early 90s, late 90s, and now?

Pakistan U19!

Why more U19 players were not drafted in between 2000 and 2015 is anyone's guess!

Babar Azam

The player that has impressed me the most is the youngest of the lot, Babar Azam.

He had a sterling start to his ODI career compiling 5 fifties in his first 10 ODIs. Those knocks came against all comers including Zimbabwe, England, and New Zealand.

He scored 50s on batting friendly pitches in Lahore and the UAE, as well as, in bowler friendly conditions in New Zealand.

The ODI series against England was a disappointment though. He got 30s and 40s and looked extremely good while at the crease, however every single one of his dismissals was a question mark on his temperament. Loose shots, loss of concentration, and recklessness made me think he was another Umar Akmal in the making.

But his last two ODI knocks have been magnificent, and with those he has truly arrived on the big stage.

Back to back centuries in ODIs have placed him among a select few and he has the chance to be in absolute elite company if he can manage another century in the third ODI against the West Indies.

Scoring a ton is not easy, irrespective of how weak the opposition's bowling is. To follow that up with another ton is a sign of greatness. It is so easy to fall into complacency and sit on your laurels.

Babar's first 17 ODIs have produced more runs than anyone who has played for Pakistan before him.

Here is a comparison of where he stands after 17 ODI innings among Pakistani ODI greats and his peers who were once considered the next big thing for Pakistan.

In terms of runs and average in the first 17 ODI innings, no one even comes close to Babar.

His 2 centuries are matched by Inzamam and Ahmed Shehzad, while his 5 fifties are matches by Mohammad Yousuf and Nasir Jamshed. His strike rate is bettered by Nasir and Saeed Anwar.

He is in great company in that table and has given us a lot of promise for the future.

I did a similar comparison of Babar's performance in the first 17 ODIs of his career with other ODI greats and his international peers who are currently dominating ODI cricket.

It is really interesting to note that Babar tops this list too with more runs in his first 17 ODI innings than Kohli, Root, Amla, and Ponting did.

The similarity between Babar Azam's and Virat Kohli's record after 17 ODIs is uncanny.

So many Pakistanis have asked "hume Kohli jaisa batsman kab milega?" ...

Babar hum sab ko jawab de raha hai.

Yes I know that it is really early to compare Babar Azam with the greats. But there is no reason why we can't celebrate the start to his career.

This is a solid platform that he has laid for himself that will eventually lead him to greatness.

He is surely the most exciting batting talent that Pakistan has produced in the past decade and a half.

Yes we said the same about Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, and Ahmed Shehzad; but Babar truly seems like the real deal.

Critics who are saying lets see what Babar can do in foreign conditions, I point them to his 62 and 83 in Wellington and Auckland respectively.

For those who are saying it is too early to compare him with Kohli or for that matter anyone else, I completely agree but it amuses me when the same people say that Imad is better than Afridi and should have been playing many years ago instead of him.

So we can't compare Babar with Kohli but we can compare Imad with Afridi?

Why is it so hard to celebrate our heroes? And so easy to put them down?

Look at what he has achieved and is achieving. Celebrate the feats.

Babar is only 21. There is a long road ahead.

We all know that.

But that should not stop us from celebrating his mega entry on to the world stage.