Imam outpaces Kohli and Azam, reaches 1000 ODI runs

Pakistan opening batsman Imam ul Haq has become the second fastest batsman to reach 1000 One Day International (ODI) runs on Friday.

The youngster managed to attain the feat against South Africa in just 19 innings, only one more than fellow opening batsman Fakhar Zaman, who holds the record of fastest to 1000 runs mark in 18 ODI appearances.

However, with the feat Imam was able to best the likes of Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, Proteas’s Hashim Amla and Pakistan’s Babar Azam.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa in the third one-day international series (ODI) at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

The five-match ODI series is levelled at 1-1 with both the teams hoping to take a lead.

Pakistan XI: Imam ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain and wicket-keeper), Mohammad Amir, Hassan Ali and Shaheen Afridi

South Africa XI: Reeza Hendricks, Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Faf du Plessis (captain), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi and Dale Steyn