Karachi, Dec 26 (IANS): Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Monday set a couple of records as he struck a half-century to rescue the hosts from a precarious position in the opening Test of the series against New Zealand. He now holds the record for the most runs scored by a Pakistan batter in a calendar year and the most fifties or more scored in a calendar year

The Pakistan captain broke the 16-year-old record for most runs scored by a Pakistan batter in a season held by Mohammad Yousuf in the first innings of the opening Test against New Zealand.

He now holds the record for the most runs in a calendar year by a Pakistan batter, going past Mohammad Yousuf's aggregate of 2435 runs in 2006. Batting on 54 not out at the end of the first session, Babar has 2477 runs across all formats in 2022. In third place is Saeed Anwar, who scored 2296 runs in 43 matches in 1996.

The half-century also means he now holds the record for most scores of 50 or more in a calendar year. This was Babar's 25th 50+ score, surpassing Ricky Ponting's record of 24 in 2005.

Despite the contrasting fortunes of the team in Test cricket this year, the skipper has shone in the format with more than 1000 runs in nine matches. In this calendar year, only three other batters have managed to hit the four-figure mark in Tests.

The 28-year-old is the top batter on the ICC Test batting record, holding on to the No. 1 position in the list.