Mumbai: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been named as the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of 2021. Babar Azam may have played only six ODIs in 2021, but he made a significant contribution to the two series played by Pakistan this year. Also Read: Joe Root Named ICC Men’s Test Cricketer Of 2021
He was the second-highest run-scorer with 228 runs and was the player of the match in both Pakistan’s 2–1 series win against South Africa. Also Read: Pakistan Pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi Named ICC Men’s Cricketer 2021
Babar, who chased down Pakistan’s 274 in the first ODI, scored a century in the final ODI by scoring 94 off 82 balls, where the visitors scored 320 while batting first.
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1485502854257389571?s=20
He was the lone crusader for Pakistan when they were beaten 3-0 by England. He scored 177 runs in three matches but found no support and no batsman could score more than 100 runs in the series.
Azam’s best performance this year came in the form of a loss in the final ODI against England. With the series already lost, Pakistan was proudly playing for a crucial ICC Cricket World Cup Super League point in the third ODI in Birmingham.
Coming to bat first, Pakistan scored 331 runs, in which Babar was close to half the run of the team. Babar, who came out to bat at the beginning of the innings, got Pakistan out of trouble by sharing a 92-run partnership with Imam-ul-Haq.
He was cautious in his approach initially, reaching his fifty in 72 balls. He made up for it by scoring the next half-century in just 32 balls – his second ODI century of the year.
With the milestone out of the way, he exploded in the death overs and batted almost through the innings, being dismissed for 158 in the final over, his highest ODI score ever.
Unfortunately for Pakistan, James Vince and Lewis Gregory stole the show with a stunning 129-run stand for the sixth wicket as England chased the total down with two overs to spare.
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