Babar beats Kohli to become fastest Asian batter to score 10k int’l runs

Pakistan captain Babar Azam stood firm amid a batting collapse to compile his seventh Test hundred on Sunday, leading his side's fightback against hosts Sri Lanka on the second day of the opening Test in Galle.

Babar's heroic 119 steered Pakistan to 218 from a precarious 85-7, in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings score of 222. Babar curbed his attacking instincts and farmed most of the strike to shield his tail-end batters, adding 27 for the eighth wicket with Yasir Shah (18), another 36 for the ninth with Hasan Ali (17) and a further 70 for the last with Naseem Shah (5).

The stylish right-hander -- who during his knock became the fastest Asian batter, the fifth-fastest overall, and the 11th Pakistan batter to complete 10,000 international runs -- leapt and punched the air as he scampered for a single off spinner Maheesh Theekshana to get to his century.

Babar took 228 outings to reach the prestigious landmark whereas India's Virat Kohli did the same in 232 innings. Sir Vivian Richards holds the record for fastest to 10000 international runs in just 206 innings, followed by former South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla (217), West Indies batting legend Brian Lara (220), and former England captain Joe Root (222).