Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Monday, December 26 surpassed former England Test skipper Joe Root to become the leading run-scorer in Tests in 2022. Notably, Root, who amassed 1098 runs from 15 matches at an average of 45.75 in 2022, now stands behind Azam, who became the top run-getter during a meticulous innings on Day 1 of Pakistan’s opening Test against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi.

After a disastrous Test series against England (3-0), Baber Azam led pakistan again completely collapsed early into the match as they lost three quick wickets of Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood within the first 15 overs of the match.

But, after grinding hard in the middle, Saud Saukeel too lost his wicket as the hosts found themselves in a spot of bother. However, Azam stepped up once again, to rescue the sinking ship and give Pakistan a breath of fresh air.

The 28-year-old smashed another century in the longest format of the game while wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed, who made his return to the Pakistan team after a long wait, scored a half-century to bring back the momentum.

Baber Azam became the leading run-scorer in Tests in 2022.

Image- ESPNcricinfoIn addition, Babar Azam has also broken the record of most 50+ scores in a year of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. After the failure of the openers, Babar came on the field and scored the 27th half-century of his Test career in the Karachi Test. He has completed 1105 Test runs in 2022. By doing this feat, he left behind Joe Root in the list of leading run-scorer in Tests in 2022.

Only three other batters had 1,000 runs for the season prior to Babar. Joe Root of England has 1,098 runs in 27 innings, Usman Khawaja of Australia has 1,080 runs in 20 innings, and Jonny Bairstow of England has 1,061 runs in 19.