Babar Azam Scores Half-Century in Pakistan's Test Return

Babar Azam marked his return to Pakistan’s Test side with a half-century and another major batting milestone during the second Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet. After missing the first Test in Mirpur because of an injury, Babar scored 68 off 84 balls with 10 boundaries to top-score for Pakistan in the first innings. His knock helped Pakistan recover from 79/4 to post 232, reducing Bangladesh’s lead to 46 runs. During the innings, Babar also completed 9,000 international runs in the 2020 decade, moving ahead of Joe Root and teammate Mohammad Rizwan on the list of highest run-scorers in international cricket since January 2020. Babar has now scored 9,060 runs from 231 innings across 212 international matches this decade at an average of 42.53. He also has 17 centuries in this period, the third-highest among batters after Joe Root and Shubman Gill.Most international runs in the 2020 decade:

BatterInningsRunsAverageBabar Azam2319,06042.53Joe Root1778,30551.90Mohammad Rizwan2107,77945.75Kusal Mendis2157,04635.94Pathum Nissanka1986,87336.95Virat Kohli1826,77142.31

Kohli, who dominated international cricket in the previous decade, is currently sixth on the list. The former India captain has scored 6,771 runs from 182 innings in international cricket since January 2020. Kohli is no longer part of India’s setup in all formats after retiring from T20 Internationals in 2024 and Test cricket in 2025. Between 2010 and 2020, Kohli led the charts with 20,960 runs from 431 innings at an average of 57.58, including 69 centuries and 98 fifties. Meanwhile, Bangladesh stayed ahead in the series-deciding Test after bowling Pakistan out for 232 in 57.4 overs. Nahid Rana and Taijul Islam picked up three wickets each, while Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed two wickets apiece. Bangladesh then crossed the 100-run mark before stumps on Day 2, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy scoring 52.