Pakistan vs Australia: Rizwan becomes first batter to score 1,000 T20I runs in a year

By
Faizan Lakhani
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Pakistans Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on November 11, 2021. AFP
Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on November 11, 2021. AFP

DUBAI: Pakistani opener Mohammad Rizwan entered his name in the record books by becoming the first batter to score 1,000 T20I runs in a calendar year. 

The Pakistani wicketkeeper achieved the feat in the 20 innings he has so far played this year. 

Babar Azam becomes fastest to 2,500 T20I runs

Rizwan wasn't the only one to break a world run when it comes to T20I runs in the Australia vs Pakistan match. Skipper Babar Azam wasn't far behind. 

The Pakistani skipper became the fastest to score 2,500 T20I runs, achieving the feat in 62 innings. 

Previously, the record was held by Indian captain Virat Kohli, who had score 2,500 T20I runs in 68 innings. 

Most runs as T20I captain

The Pakistani captain, with his fourth half-century in the tournament last week, had surpassed the record of former Sri Lanka batter Mahela Jayawardene’s record of most runs by a captain in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.

Babar had then accumulated 264 runs in the tournament. Jayawardene had scored 201 runs as captain of Sri Lanka in 2012.

The inning of 66 was Babar’s 4th score of fifty or more in this edition of the tournament, no other player has scored more than 4 half-centuries in a single edition of ICC T20 World Cup — the two others to do so are Kohli and Australia’s Matthew Hayden, who is the current batting consultant of Pakistan team.

Fastest 1,000 T20I runs as captain

The Pakistan captain had broken another record of Kohli when he became the fastest to score 1,000 T20I runs as captain last month during the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan.

Azam scored 1,000 T20I runs in 26 innings as the skipper of the Pakistan cricket team.

Kohli, as captain of the Indian cricket team, had taken 30 innings to score 1,000 T20I runs.