Pakistan captain Babar Azam equalled Misbah-ul-Haq's all-time national record for the most fifty-plus scores as captain in international cricket during the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Babar reached the milestone by scoring 50 off 58 deliveries, anchoring the innings after arriving at the crease following the fall of the second wicket with the total at 90. His fluent knock included seven boundaries before he was dismissed in the post-lunch session.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka made the breakthrough with a clever round-the-wicket delivery that pitched on an off-stump line and straightened. Babar attempted a straight drive but managed an outside edge that carried safely to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, handing Madushanka his maiden Test wicket.
The fifty marked Babar's 70th score of fifty or more while leading Pakistan across all formats, matching Misbah's record achieved over 189 innings. Babar reached the landmark in 164 innings across 153 matches as captain, while registering his 144th international fifty-plus score overall.
Reflecting the depth of Pakistan's leadership history, Inzamam-ul-Haq follows in third place with 42 fifty-plus scores as captain, ahead of Imran Khan with 38 and Javed Miandad with 34. Internationally, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting holds the all-time record with 129 fifty-plus scores as captain, followed by South Africa's Graeme Smith on 110 and India's Virat Kohli on 99.
Babar is also closing in on another significant record held by Misbah, needing 314 more runs to surpass Misbah's tally of 7,392 international runs as captain and become his country's leading run-scorer in that specific category. Pakistan finished the opening day's play strongly at 281-5 in their first innings.
Pakistan handed Test debuts on the opening day to Tayyab Arif, Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Taha and Saqib Khan, while the visitors opted for a four-pronged pace attack. Openers Azan Awais and Tayyab Arif laid a solid foundation for the hosts before Babar's intervention solidified the middle order. Play will resume on Tuesday morning for the second day of the Test match.
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