news

Babar equals Kohli, Finch's record in second England T20I

Pakistan skipper became the joint-fastest batsman to reach 1500 T20I runs

Babar equals Kohli, Finch's record in second England T20I PHOTO: Reuters

Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Babar Azam became the joint-fastest batsman to reach 1500 T20I runs after completing the milestone in his 39th innings, during the second T20I against England at the Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.

Babar scored 56 runs off 44 deliveries, during the match, which helped provide his side with a solid foundation.

Australia’s Aaron Finch and India’s Virat Kohli had previously reached the mark in the same number of innings as Babar.

Babar currently holds the first spot in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) batting ranking for men, in the shortest format of the game.

ALSO READ: Haider, Khushdil ignored: Raja criticises team management

The prolific batsman has had a meteoric rise in the world of cricket. The 25-year-old also occupies the third spot in ICC’s One-Day International (ODI) batting rankings and the fifth spot in the ICC’s Test batting rankings for men.

Babar is currently the only batsman in the world who occupies a top-five spot in the ICC batting rankings of all three formats.

The current Men in Green’s T20I captain has represented his country in 29 Tests, 74 ODIs and 39 T20Is while scoring 2045 runs, 3359 runs and 1527 runs respectively in each format. He averages 45.4 in Tests, 54.2 in ODIs and 50.7 in T20Is.