PAK vs ENG: Babar Azam Surpasses Virat Kohli To Become The 2nd Fastest To 8,000 Runs In T20 History

Updated - 23 Sep 2022, 12:52 PM

Babar Azam
Image Credits: Twitter

Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, surged back into form on Thursday night in Karachi against England with an outstanding century.

Babar led Pakistan to a 10-wicket victory in their 200-run chase, scoring an unbeaten 110 off 66 and joining forces with Mohammad Rizwan for the first wicket in an unbroken stand of 203 runs.

Babar Azam Mohammad Rizwan
Image Credits: Twitter(PCB)

The 27-year-old scored his second T20I century, after a string of poor performances, including a dismal individual effort in the Asia Cup 2022, where Pakistan lost the championship match. The opener’s innings, which included 11 fours and five sixes, helped his team tie England at one game each in the seven-match series.

In the second T20I of the series against England, Pakistan’s opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had an outstanding performance, putting up an unbroken 203-run partnership that helped the team win by 10 wickets in Karachi.

Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan
Photo by (Asif HASSAN / AFP)

Babar delivered a magnificent inning at the National Stadium, slamming an unbeaten 110 off 66 deliveries in a much-needed return to run-scoring, while Rizwan put up a chase masterclass with 88* off 51 balls.

Thanks to their knock, Pakistan have leveled the seven-match series 1-1 after England had registered a six-wicket win in the first game at the same venue.

 Babar Azam became the second quickest batter to 8,000 runs in T20s:

Babar surpassed India batting sensation Virat Kohli to become the second-fastest player to 8,000 runs in T20s during his inning.

Babar took 218 innings to reach the milestone, compared to Kohli’s 243 innings. Chris Gayle, a legend of the West Indies who achieved Mount 8K in just 213 innings, remains to be at the top of the list.

Virat Kohli-Babar Azam
Virat Kohli-Babar Azam Photo Credit: (Twitter)

Additionally, he replaced Australia’s captain Aaron Finch atop the list of top T20I run scorers. Babar is now the fifth-highest scorer in the format with 2895 runs scored in 82 games.

After scoring 2877 runs in 93 games, Finch, who helped Australia win their first T20 World Cup victory last year, has dropped to sixth place.

Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, has scored the most runs in T20 internationals (3631), followed by Virat Kohli (3586) and Martin Guptill (3497) at the second and third slots, respectively.

Also Read: IND vs AUS: Batting Second In Indian Conditions Is Advantageous: Tim David

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Mohammad Rizwan Pakistan national cricket team Virat Kohli