Bellerive Oval, November 18, 2024 – The Europe Today: Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam has climbed to second place on the all-time leading run-scorer list for men’s T20 Internationals, surpassing India’s Virat Kohli. Babar reached this milestone during the third and final T20I against Australia at Bellerive Oval on Monday, scoring 41 runs.
Despite his individual achievement, Pakistan suffered a 3-0 series defeat as Australia claimed victory in the final match. Babar’s tally now stands at 4,192 runs, surpassing Kohli’s 4,188. India’s Rohit Sharma leads the chart with 4,231 runs. Babar is just 40 runs shy of overtaking Sharma, who, along with Kohli, concluded his T20I career following India’s triumph in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Babar is one of two Pakistani players in the Top 10 of T20I run-scorers, joined by current white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan. However, the right-handed batter has recently faced challenges with his form. Stepping down as Pakistan’s white-ball captain before the Australia tour, Babar managed only 80 runs in the preceding ODI series and struggled in the first two T20I matches, scoring just three runs in each. His record-breaking 41-run performance in the final match provided a brief reprieve amid a lean patch.
Babar’s next opportunity to rewrite history may come in Pakistan’s upcoming T20I fixtures, where he has the chance to surpass Rohit Sharma and become the format’s leading run-scorer.
