Pakistan cricket team skipper Babar Azam continued his dream run in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) as the stylish right-hander smashed his second fifty-plus score in the ongoing series against the West Indies. Babar Azam had scored a well-compiled 103 in the first match at Multan. On Friday, Babar Azam was dismissed for 77. Notably, this was the sixth time in a row when the Pakistan captain went past a score of 50 in ODIs.

In the previous match, Babar Azam had made history as he became the first cricketer to hit three consecutive ODI hundreds on two different occasions.

In the second ODI, Babar Azam was on the cusp of yet another world record but as he perished for 77, he couldn't match Kumar Sangakkara‘s record tally of four consecutive centuries in the 50-over format. The Sri Lankan great had achieved the extraordinary feat in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia.

Despite Babar Azam missing out on a ton at the Multan Cricket Stadium, his fans were still going gaga about his fairytale run which has now seen his ODI average cross the 60 mark.

“Babar Azam is the only batter with 1000plus runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. He has 1005 runs at an average of 91.36 and a strike-rate of 103.71. Also, 6 centuries in 13 innings!” a Pakistan supporter said on Twitter.

“Babar Azam has 19 fifties and 17 hundreds from just 86 innings in his ODI career – Consistent having a different name,” another wrote referring to his consistency.

“Babar Azam is perhaps the second Pakistani cricketer after Shahid Afridi for whom the crowd anxiously waits to come and bat and silence runs in the stadium when he departs back to the pavilion. Such stardom and crowd-pulling art is bestowed to very few cricketers in the world,” a third claimed.

“Just wanted to tell you that Babar Azam’s ODI average is now higher than Kohli’s ever had. That's it that's the tweet,” a fourth declared.

“With nine centuries and eight fifties, Babar Azam has scored 1967 runs in his last 30 innings at an average of 98.54,” an admirer mentioned highlighting the Pakistan captain's extraordinary numbers.

Babar Azam's knock and his century stand with Imam-ul-Haq helped Pakistan to a respectable 275/8 in their 50 overs.

But West Indies would fancy their chances after seeing Pakistan chase down more than 300 in the first game.

Coming back to Babar Azam, he's already the No.1 batter in ODIs and T20Is and now wants to become the first cricketer to achieve the top ranking in all three formats of the game.

“As a player, it's a dream to become the No. 1 in all formats and, for that, you have to focus and put in hard work. It's not like if you are the top player in one or two formats, you go easy,” Babar told the ICC.

“If you are to become No.1 in all three, you have to keep yourself fit and on track. There is back-to-back cricket and the gap is less. For that, you need to be extra fit. It's something I am preparing for. It's going well in white-ball and hopefully, I will be able to do well in Tests too,” he added.

Even veteran India batter Dinesh Karthik had backed him to make history.

“One-hundred percent (he is capable of achieving that),” Karthik told India pacer Jasprit Bumrah's wife Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review. “He is a high-quality player who is at the peak of his batting prowess and he has got some Test matches coming up.

“He has been phenomenal in all three formats of the game and he has done well in different batting positions too.

“I wish him all the best and think he has the potential. He has got all the following of Pakistan helping him in abundance to go on and do special things for his country,” Karthik concluded.

Meanwhile, the current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja was effusive in his praise of Babar Azam after his tremendous knock of 103 in the first match against the Windies as he dubbed him as the best batter across formats.

“A tremendous game. Babar walking to a hundred and showing yet again why he is the best all-format batsman in the world and why Khushdil has to be renamed Dilkhush!! A big thank you to all the fans at the stadium for braving the heat and making it a great day. Multan Zindabad,” Ramiz Raja said on Twitter.

Though he has received rave reviews for his performances from all quarters of the cricketing community, nothing comes close to what former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said.

“There has not been a batter-like Saeed Anwar. I have seen him from close quarters, and trust me; he was a special player. He (Babar) is the Bradman and Lara of this era. That is the thing,” Latif had said in April.