Babar Azam leaves Virat Kohli behind; breaks India legend's huge T20I record

Babar breaks Kohli's record [Source: AFP Photo]

Pakistan's star batter finally roared back to form as he smacked a whirlwind 36-ball fifty to create history during the third T20I against Pakistan. In a must-win clash for the hosts, Babar came into bat in a tricky situation and registered his 37th fifty in the format, and he surpassed India’s Virat Kohli in a huge milestone.

With this knock, Babar now has the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is (37 fifties, 3 hundreds). Earlier, he was tied with Kohli (39 fifty-plus scores). Pakistan lost Saim Ayub for a duck, but Babar played a composed knock to beat Kohli in a huge T20I milestone, who had (38 half-centuries and a solitary ton). This was the Pakistan star's first T20I fifty since his knock vs Ireland in May 2024.

Most fifty-plus scores in T20Is

• Babar sits at the top of the list with 40 scores of 50 or above as he surpassed Virat Kohli, who has now dropped to second place.
• Rohit Sharma, Kohli’s teammate, occupies the 3rd spot, with Babar’s mate, Mohammad Rizwan at fourth, and Australian retired star, David Warner, at fifth.

Other notable record broken by Babar in SA series

In the first T20I of the series, Babar was dismissed for a silver duck; however, in the second game, he created history by surpassing Rohit Sharma in a huge feat. He scored 11 runs, and in the process, became the player with the most runs in T20I history.

Rohit had 4231 runs in 159 matches, and Babar surpassed the record in just 130 matches to etch his name in the history books. Moreover, in the 3rd T20I, he became the first player in T20I history to slam 450 boundaries, a feat that showcases his excellent stroke-making.

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