What is Babar Azam's ODI record against top 6 teams?

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam boasts of sensational numbers in ODIs, resulting in the stylish right-hander rightly being the World's top-ranked batter in the format. He has been instrumental in leading the Men in Green to be the top-ranked side in the World.

Despite coming into the Asia Cup with scintillating form behind him, Babar endured failures in crucial back-to-back games against India and Sri Lanka, with scores of 10 and 29, respectively.

While a few low scores do not indicate the pedigree of a cricketer, fans have begun questioning the champion batter's ability to perform against the best teams in critical matches.

There is a notion floating around that the Pakistan skipper boosts his numbers against lower-ranked teams, making it worthwhile to look at his ODI numbers against the other top six teams in the World.

For starters, Babar has contrasting numbers against their two closest competitors on the rankings, Australia and India. The 28-year-old has scored 588 runs at a stellar average of 73.50 against the five-time World Champions at a 91.73 strike rate with three centuries in nine matches.

However, he has struggled mightily against arch-rivals India, scoring only 168 runs in seven matches with a dismal average of 28 and an equally poor strike rate of 72.41 without a single three-figure score.

Babar has played 19 matches apiece against the fourth and fifth-ranked ODI teams, England and New Zealand, with similar numbers against both. While the star batter has scored 816 runs at a 48 average and 97.37 strike rate against the defending champions, he has notched up 840 runs with a 46.55 average and an 83 strike rate against the Black Caps.

Babar Azam against other top-six ODI teams
Teams	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Centuries
Australia	9	588	73.5	91.73	3
India	7	168	28	72.41	0
England	19	816	48	97.37	2
New Zealand	19	840	46.55	83	2
South Africa	10	523	65.37	89.55	1
Overall	64	2935	51.49	88.75	8

Babar has also smashed two centuries against each of the 2019 ODI World Cup finalists. Against South Africa, the last of the top six teams, he has been exceptional, scoring 523 runs in ten matches at an average of over 65 and a strike rate of almost 90, with the lone century.

His cumulative numbers against the other top-six teams read an impressive 2,935 runs in 64 games at an average of 51.49 and a strike rate of 88.75, with eight centuries.

Even away from home against the other five top-six sides, Babar has been impressive, barring New Zealand, where he averages only 25.14 in seven games at a 76.85 strike rate. While he has never played in India, the elegant batter boasts an average of 56.40 in Australia, 51.43 in England, and 60.42 in South Africa.

While the numbers against the top sides are sensational, they are a slight drop-off from his overall ODI numbers of 58.16 average and 89.12 strike rate in 108 matches. Yet, it would be delusional and a myth to state that Babar Azam has prospered only against the weaker teams to produce his outstanding numbers.

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Other ODI Numbers and records of Babar Azam

Babar Azam already has several noteworthy records in his still-young career.

Babar Azam's best performances in ODIs have been against Zimbabwe and West Indies (among teams he has faced multiple times), averaging 114.75 and 79.66 at 100 and 92 strike rates, respectively.

Another fascinating statistic is his impressive average at home, away, and neutral venues, averaging 73.55, 51.46, and 57.50 over a nine-year ODI career.

Babar has also shown the tendency to rise to the occasion in the marquee tournaments, evidenced by his scoring 474 runs in the 2019 World Cup at an average of 67.71 and an 87.77 strike rate. He also averages above 40 in Asia Cup and Champion Trophy competitions.

Apart from the numbers, the Pakistan captain has several records in his illustrious career. Babar is the fastest cricketer to 5,000 ODI runs and the fastest to 2,000 runs as captain. He also boasts the third-best batting average in ODI history and was the ICC ODI cricketer of the year in 2021 and 2022.

With a career heading towards all-time greatness, Babar Azam should undoubtedly finish as one of Pakitan's most accomplished batters in their history.