Pakistan may have suffered a five-wicket loss to England in the second T20I at Old Trafford in Manchester, but their limited-limits patron Babar Azam etched his name in the record books on Sunday. The right-hander became the fastest along with India captain Virat Kohli and Australia captain Aaron Finch to complete 1,500 runs in T20I.
Babar, who was 29 runs short of 1,500, accomplished the feat in his 39 innings, as did Kohli and Finch. Kohli is the leading race scorer in the T20I format. He has scored 2,794 runs in 82 games so far, while India’s vice captain Rohit Sharma is second on the list with 2,773 runs in 108 games, followed by Kiwi starter Martin Guptill, Pakistani Shoaib Malik and Australian David Warner.
Also read: Eoin Morgan leads England to victory in record chase against Pakistan
Babar also surpassed Kohli to claim first place in higher batting averages (minimum 500 runs) in the game’s shortest format. Babar, who scored 56 of 44 balls in a losing cause, is currently averaging 50.90 in T20I, the highest of any player.
Previously, Virat Kohli was ranked number one with an average of 50.80. However, it should be noted that Kohli has played more than twice as many matches (82) compared to Babar (40).
Returning to the second T20I between England and Pakistan, captain Eoin Morgan turned half a century as England chased a record goal at Old Trafford to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second Twenty20 international match on Sunday.
Pakistan was 195 of four in its 20 overs in a flat wicket, but the home team completed their victory with five balls to spare and a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
Morgan threw 66 of 33 balls to secure victory in what is the highest chase in any form of cricket of more than 20 at Old Trafford.
(With input from Reuters, ANI)
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