Pakistani batter Babar Azam is regarded as one of the most stylish batters in world cricket. His consistent run of form in the last few years earned him captaincy across all formats for his national side and continues to be a run machine for the 1992 world champions. 

Babar Azam made his international debut against Zimbabwe during an ODI in Lahore, 2015. In the following year, he also received his maiden T20I and Test caps, soon establishing himself as an all-format regular in the team.

He is one of the 11 Pakistani cricketers to have scored over 10,000 international runs across all three formats and was also the fastest to reach the landmark, getting there in 228 innings.

Azam has scored runs all over the world, but his sensational run of form against Zimbabwe in limited overs cricket is noteworthy. Here’s how the Pakistani batter fared against them over the years.

Babar Azam vs Zimbabwe stats

Babar Azam vs Zimbabwe in ODIs

Matches

Runs

Average

Strike rate

Best score

100s/50s

9

459

114.75

100.43

125

2/2

Babar Azam scored a fifty against Zimbabwe in his first-ever international match for Pakistan, and went on to score 459 runs against them in nine matches. He holds an outstanding average of 114.75 and scored at a strike rate of 110.43. He scored two centuries against them in this format, one in Bulawayo (2018) and the other in Rawalpindi (2020).

Babar Azam vs Zimbabwe in T20Is

Matches

Runs

Average

Strike rate

Best score

100s/50s

7

232

38.66

124.06

82

0/3

Babar Azam did not play a T20I fixture against Zimbabwe until 2020 when the Asian side hosted a three-match series. He scored two half-centuries in the first two matches and went on to score another half-century the following year when Pakistan toured the African team. He has scored 232 runs at an average just short of 40. 

Babar Azam vs Zimbabwe in Tests

Matches

Runs

Average

Strike rate

Best score

100s/50s

2

2

1

22.22

2

0/0

Surprisingly, Babar Azam does not have a commendable record in the longest format against them. He played two Tests against them during Pakistan tour of Zimbabwe in 2021, where he got to bat twice across two Tests. He was dismissed for a first-ball duck in the first Test and scored just two runs in the second Test. Pakistan won both the Tests by an innings to spare. 

Photo Credit: Alamy