Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam scripted history after scoring three runs in the fourth T20I against England at The Oval on Thursday, May 30. Babar became the first Pakistani cricketer to record 4,000 runs in T20I cricket history and the second after India's Virat Kohli.
The in-form batter missed Virat Kohli's all-time record for the most runs in the shortest format by just 14 runs. Babar has scored 4,023 runs in 112 T20I innings and will battle with Kohli for the top spot in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.
Babar surpssed Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma in the top run-getters chart after scoring 32 runs in the second T20I against England. First and third matches of the series were washed out due to rain and denied Babar to dethrone Virat before the T20 World Cup 2024.
Kohli has been dominating the top spot despite playing just two T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli has also played less matches than Babar and boasts comparatively better batting average and strike rate in T20Is.
Most runs in T20I cricket
- Virat Kohli - 4037 runs in 109 innings
- Babar Azam - 4023 runs in 112 innings
- Rohit Sharma - 3974 runs in 143 innings
- Paul Stirling - 3589 runs in 141 innings
- Martin Guptill - 3531 runs in 118 innings
- Mohammad Rizwan - 3203 runs in 85 innings
Meanwhile, Babar promoted himself to open with Mohammad Rizwan and gave Pakistan a stunning start in powerplay. The in-form duo added 59 runs for the opening wicket before Babar's dismissal on the last ball of the powerplay overs.
Babar scored 36 runs off 22 balls before being dismissed by Jofra Archer with Adil Rashid taking an easy catch at short third area. Pakistan struggled for quick runs after powerplay overs and were bowled out to a total of 157 in 19.5 overs.