Babar Azam breaks this T20I record of Virat Kohli
What's the story
Pakistan's Babar Azam has overtaken star Indian batter Virat Kohli in the race for the most fifties in T20Is. The achievement came during Pakistan's third and final T20I against Australia, where Babar scored a half-century off 36 balls. His innings helped Pakistan post 207/6 in 20 overs. Saim Ayub (56), Shadab Khan (46), and Khawaja Nafay (21) also contributed significantly to the team's score.
Knock
Babar scores 36-ball 50
Babar came in when Pakistan were 34/2 inside the Powerplay. He added 69 runs for the third wicket with Ayub and an unbeaten 57-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shadab Khan. These partnerships were instrumental in Pakistan reaching a total of 207/6 in their allotted overs. Babar, who reached his half-century in the final over, scored a 36-ball 50 (3 fours and 1 six).
Record details
Most fifties in T20Is
Babar now has 39 fifties in T20I cricket, one more than the former Indian captain Virat Kohli. The latter bowed out of the format in 2024, scoring 4,188 runs from 125 matches at an incredible average of 48.69. He also scored a ton. India's Rohit Sharma (32) and Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan (30) follow Kohli in terms of half-centuries in the format.
Career
First player to complete 4,500 T20I runs
During the match, Babar also became the first batter to complete 4,500 runs in T20I cricket. In 139 matches, the former Pakistan skipper has raced to 4,505 runs at an average of 39.51. He also owns 3 tons and a strike rate of 128.38. As of now, Rohit (4,231) and Kohli (4,188) are the only other players with 4,000-plus runs in T20I cricket.