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SPORTS SEPTEMBER 08, 2023 | The Indian Eye 47

Babar Azam becomes first “I strive for betterment every
captain to score 150 day”: Kohli
tar India batter Virat Kohli has
akistan stalwart Babar Azam said that as a player he strives
scripted history on Wednesday
Pby achieving a milestone by be- Sfor betterment every day and
performance becomes a byproduct
coming the first captain to score 150 of the mindset while also noting that
in the Asia Cup tournament. there is no limit to excellence.
In the opening match of the Asia
In his interaction on Star Sports
Cup between Pakistan and Nepal, on “Follow the Blues”, Virat delved
Pakistan captain Babar smashed a into his quest for self-improvement
stunning 151 off 131 balls to provide and continuous growth. ‘King Kohli’,
his team with a massive 342/6 total in as he is known to his fans, will be seen
Multan.
in action during the Asia Cup cam-
paign opener against arch-rivals Paki-
With his innings, he placed stan on Saturday.
“I only try to understand how I
himself second to play the best can better my game. Every day, every
knock in the Asia Cup. Indian practice session, every year, every sea-
batter Virat Kohli still holds the son. This is what has helped me play
this well for so long and perform for
record for scoring the highest my team. I do not think you can per-

knock of 183 in the tourna- form consistently without that mind-
set, because if your performance is
ment. Babar surpassed Mush- your only goal, then you can be satis-
fiqur Rahim of Bangladesh, fied and stop working hard,” he said.
“My motto has always been to
who scored 144 earlier. ‘Chase betterment’, not excellence
I would say, because I do not know
Babar is now just one century what the definition of excellence is.
away from equalizing with Saeed An- There is no limit to it, there is no set
war on scoring the greatest number achievement that if you reach a certain
of centuries for Pakistan in a one-day stage, you have reached excellence.
international. The former Pakistan “I think I strive for betterment
batter Saeed has smashed 20 hun- every day, so that is a better word to
dred in his ODI career while Babar is use and yes, performance obviously
just one century behind as he has 19 becomes a byproduct because your
centuries under his belt. mindset is ‘How do I make my team
The Pakistan skipper also joined win from this position? This will make
the elite club of the highest hun- Virat Kohli at the launch of a product in Bengaluru (ANI) me a better player or this will get my
dred-getters for Pakistan in all formats. team in a better position if I perform
He became the fourth player with the this way. So, this has always been my
most centuries along with Saeed An- he’s probably the top batsman in the such things for each other, it feels re- mindset,” he concluded.
war, Javed Miandad and Azhar Ali. world across formats, performing so ally good,” he added. Virat has been in good form
He has 31 centuries so far in all the consistently and rightly so. He has Both batters have excelled in the this year. In 10 ODIs this year, he
formats. Younis Khan is the lead- amazing talent and I have always en- ODI format over the years. Babar, has scored 427 runs at an average of
ing Pakistan batter with 41 hundred. joyed watching him play,” said Virat whose most recent knock was a 53.37, with two tons and a fifty and a
Fiery centuries from captain as quoted by ICC. match-winning 151 against Nepal, av- best of 166 against Sri Lanka.
Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed “So that [Babar’s attitude] has erages 59.47 in the format with 5,353 In 17 international matches
powered Pakistan to give a target of not changed because he is performing runs to his name. He has 19 ODI hun- across formats this year in 19 innings,
343 to Nepal. now, and he is coming into his own. dreds, the second most for Pakistan in he has scored 984 runs at an average of
Babar praises Virat Kohli I do not see his attitude or approach the format. 54.66 with four centuries and two fif-
changing towards me,” he added. Virat, on the other hand, has ties. His best score is 186 against Aus-
akistan skipper Babar Azam Babar reacted to Virat’s com- 12,898 runs at an average of 57.32. tralia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
was elated at being praised ments recently on Star Sports, and dis- He has 46 ODI hundreds to his name, He also had a good IPL 2023.
Pby India star Virat Kohli and cussed Virat’s influence on his game. which is the second most in the for- Though his team RCB could not
detailed the mutual respect that ex- “It feels really good. When some- mat’s history. reach the playoffs, he scored 639 runs
ists between them, saying that praise one talks about you like this. And Pakistan, India and Nepal are in in 14 innings at an average of 53.25,
from someone like Virat gives him what Kohli has said, has made me Group A while Bangladesh, Afghan- with a strike rate of 139.25 and scored
confidence. Kohli had conveyed his very proud and happy,” he said. istan and Sri Lanka are in Group B. two centuries and six fifties in his 14
admiration and recalled his first meet- “Such praise gives you confi- The tournament will follow a hybrid innings. He ended the tournament as
ing with Pakistan’s star batter Babar dence. When I met him in 2019, he model with Pakistan hosting four the fourth-highest run-getter.
Azam in an interaction with Star was at his peak. He is still at his peak. matches across two venues and Sri With 12,898 runs in 275 matches
Sports last year. I wanted to take something from his Lanka hosting the remaining games. at an average of 57.32, with 46 centu-
“I saw a lot of regard and respect game. I learnt a lot from him. He gave The six group-stage matches will be ries and 65 fifties, fans will be expect-
from him from day one, and that has a detailed explanation to all my ques- followed by the Super Fours begin- ing a lot from Virat during the Asia
not changed. Regardless of the fact tions. That helped me. When you do ning September 6. Cup and World Cup.

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