Cricket-Babar hits three ODI tons in a row - for second time

(Reuters) - Babar Azam became the first batsman to twice score three consecutive centuries in one-day internationals after his 103 helped Pakistan beat West Indies by five wickets on Wednesday.

Captain Babar shared a 103-run partnership with Imam-ul-Haq (65) and a 108-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan (59) as Pakistan chased down a target of 306 in Multan to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.

The 27-year-old Babar made two centuries against Australia before Wednesday's match and also racked up three tons in a row in 2016, all against West Indies.

Babar hit nine fours in his 17th ODI century and the world's top-ranked ODI batter also surpassed former India skipper Virat Kohli to become the fastest player to reach 1,000 runs as captain.

Babar achieved the feat in 13 innings compared with Kohli's 17.

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)