"I repeat, never ever doubt Babar Azam once the series is over"- Twitterati hails Babar Azam for his career-best ODI knock

Pakistan skipper and World No. 1 ODI batsman Babar Azam has made a roaring comeback into form after two dismal outings in previous games. In the last ODI of the series against England, Babar Azam notched up his career-best ODI score of 158(in 139 balls) to silence his detractors and shepherd his team towards a massive first innings total of 331/9.

Watch his celebration after reaching 100 in the clip below:

💯 for @babarazam258 Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/wtCtb2kz8n🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvPAK 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/NRiP9HynQP

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 13, 2021

The Pakistan skipper's purple patch at Edgbaston continued as he now averages a whopping 286 at the venue in ODI matches. It proved to be the perfect setting for him to rediscover his form before the commencement of the T20I series.

Earlier in the day, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field first on a good batting track. Saqib Mahmood, who is having a great series with the ball, stuck early and dismissed Fakhar Zaman cheaply for just six runs.

Babar Azam then arrived at the crease and joined hands with Imam-ul-Haq(56) to steady the innings after the early blow. He took his time to settle in and was watchful while facing Saqib Mahmood as the English bowler in both games of this series so far.

Highest ODI batting average at Edgbaston (min. 4 innings):1. Babar Azam: 286.002. Virat Kohli: 111.663. Kane Williamson: 103.334. Rohit Sharma: 89.405. Allan Border: 79.66#ENGvPAK

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 13, 2021

Leg-spinner Parkinson provided a second breakthrough for his team in the 26th over when he castled out Imam-ul-Haq with a beautifully flighted incoming delivery. Mohammad Rizwan(74 in 58 balls) then played an aggressive knock and took the pressure of Babar Azam. Rizwan's support at the other end helped the Pakistan skipper build his innings at his own pace.

The duo strung together a massive 179-run partnership in just 120 balls to completely change the course of the game and tilt the odds in Pakistan's favor. Due to their efforts, Pakistan put on a substantial target of 332 in front of the English team.

Twitter reactions after Babar Azam's career-best ODI knock

No dead rubbers in ODI cricket anymore. So it’s wonderful to see yet another wonderfully crafted century for one of the gold standards of modern ODI batting. Babar Azam is an exemplar. Such a pleasure to watch.

— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam now first Pakistan captain to score a 150 in ODIs. #EngvPak

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam gets to 150 on his way to the highest ODI score by a Pakistan batsman in England #ENGvsPAK @babarazam258 pic.twitter.com/mBlDKnMsqx

— Kamran Abbasi (@KamranAbbasi) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam's 158 today:- Highest score in ODI by a Pakistani captain, beating Shoaib Malik's 125*- Highest score by a Pakistani batsman in England, surpassing Imam ul Haq's 151. - Highest core by ANY captain in a bilateral series in England.#BabarAzam #ENGvPAK #Cricket

— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) July 13, 2021

Most ODI hundreds for Pakistan:20 Saeed Anwar (in 244 innings)15 Mohammad Yousuf (in 267 innings)14 Babar Azam (in 81 innings)#Cricket #ENGvPAK

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) July 13, 2021

This Babar Azam inning had everything:☑️158 runs with massive SR 114 🔥☑️Fastest to 14 ODI centuries, in only 81 innings.☑️One of only 5 centuries scored in ODI cricket with a false shot percentage of under 2%. Patience, Gritt, Class & Self believe💫#PAKvENG | #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/alaabYgM6u

— Mandy. (@MandyHox) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam world record fastest to 14 ODI centuries (81 inns), broke Hashim Amla's world record (84 inns). Babar also holds the world record for fastest 7 and 13 ODI centuries. Babar Azam dealing in world records. Incredible! @babarazam258 @amlahash @ICC #KingBabar👑#Cricket

— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) July 13, 2021

Magnificent scenes from Edgbeston as crowd give standing ovation to BABAR AZAM. #BabarAzam #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/GieaJOhae7

— Mandy. (@MandyHox) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam is first Pakistani to score 1000 runs and 3 centuries in England.

— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam Making Us Forget The Gham Of The Previous Matches! 🔥 MashaAllah King, What A Century 💯 Congratulations 🥳❤️ #ShadabKhan #BabarAzam #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/HMjTeJu3FB

— Shadab × Excellence (@shadabian29) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam joins Azhar Ali as the joint-most centuries by a Pakistan captain in One Day Internationals. #ENGvPAK #HarHaalMainCricket pic.twitter.com/ZJsE4e8sB1

— Green Team (@GreenTeam1992) July 13, 2021

Amongst the Durban chaos, I had a chance to watch the highlights of Babar Azam’s innings today, and for a short while I felt good again.

— Sarwar Khan (@sarwar302) July 13, 2021

No mark woodNo jofra archer No chrish woakes No sam curranNo adil rashidNo moeen aliJo innings Babar Azam Zimbabwe ke against khelta hai Wahi ussne aaj khelaa haiWahi Zimbabwe level waali bowling aur same wahi Zimbabwe level waali innings😂 😍 😂 😂 😂 😂 https://t.co/8QfpzD4XlX

— Mr_feiz_17 (@Apka_Apna_JEEJU) July 13, 2021

Fastest to 14 ODI centuries, by number of innings:81 - Babar Azam82 - Meg Lanning84 - Hashim Amla98 - David Warner103 - Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/sYbdmQxF4A

— Saeed orakzai (@Saeedorakzai10) July 13, 2021

Babar Azam becomes first Pakistani captain after 38 years to score century in England.Before Babar Azam, Imran Khan scored century in 1983 at Leads as a captain.

— Anas Saeed (@anussaeed1) July 13, 2021

He Knows How To Face Haters In Bad Times. Take a bow, Babar Azam 🙌#BabarAzam #PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/tDURqPJJTB

— ᚫατεհ Μυհαʍʍαδ (@fatehthepatriot) July 13, 2021