Babar Azam achieves what Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma couldn't in World Test Championship, sets new Asian record

Owing to a 23-run knock against South Africa in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Babar became the first Asian batter to surpass the 3000-run mark in the WTC. The former Pakistan captain now has 3021 runs in the premier Test championship, which got underway with the 2019 Ashes between Australia and England.

Babar is currently the eighth-highest run-scorer in the WTC history, with the list topped by England's Joe Root with 6080 runs in 69 matches. Speaking of Babar, his 3021 runs have come in 37 matches and 67 innings with the help of 8 centuries and 18 half-centuries.

Also Read: Ramiz Raja insults Babar Azam, caught red-handed while doing commentary: ‘Yeh out hai, ab drama karega’

Speaking of Rohit and Virat, who announced their retirement from Tests earlier this year, scored 2716 (40 matches) and 2617 (46 matches) respectively in the WTC.

The top five run-getters in the history of WTC are Joe Rooy (6080), Steve Smith (4278), Marnus Labuschagne (4225), Ben Stokes (3616) and Travis Head (3300). The highest Indian run-scorer in the WTC is India captain Shubman Gill, with 2826 runs in 39 matches.

Babar fails to go big

The former Pakistan captain looked set for a big one against South Africa as he came out all guns blazing, hitting a few boundaries for fun. However, the batter lost his wicket in the final session on Day 1, walking back to the hut after scoring 23 runs off 48 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Babar has a lot to prove in the two-match Test series against South Africa, as the runs have been hard to come by. Speaking of the first Test, Pakistan ended Day 1 at the score of 313/5 at Stumps with Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha unbeaten on 62 and 52 respectively.

It is worth mentioning that both Rizwan and Babar weren't a part of Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 squad, where the Salman Agha-led side lost the final against India by five wickets.

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