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Babar Azam scored 31 runs from 20 balls for Pakistan against South Africa on Friday, and during the process he also completed 11,000 runs in T20 cricket.
Babar Azam becomes fastest batter to score 11,000 runs in T20s. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Star Pakistani batter and former all-format captain Babar Azam created history on Friday (December 13) by breaking Chris Gayle’s world record and becoming the fastest batter in the world to score 11,000 runs in T20 cricket. Babar, who made his T20 debut on December 1, 2012, has 11,020 runs to his name in 298 innings of 309 matches played so far. Babar broke Gayle’s record during the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series between Pakistan and South Africa, which was played at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday. Babar came out to bat at No. 3 for the Men in Green, and during his stay at the crease, he faced 20 balls to score 31 runs with the help of 3 fours and 1 six.
Gayle, who holds the record for scoring the most runs in T20 cricket (14,562), crossed the 11,000-run mark in his 314th innings. A total of 10 batters have managed to score more than 11K runs in T20 cricket, but Babar is the only player to achieve the milestone in less than 300 innings.
Former Australian opening batter David Warner scored 11,000 T20 runs in his 330th inning, and legendary Indian batter Virat Kohli needed 337 innings to complete 11K runs in the shortest format of the game.
Fastest to 11,000 runs in T20s
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 298 innings
- Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 314 innings
- David Warner (Australia) – 330 innings
- Virat Kohli (India) – 337 innings
During his 31-run knock on Friday, Babar also completed 14,000 runs in international cricket for Pakistan. Since making his international debut in 2015, Babar has played 303 matches for the Pakistan men’s cricket team in all three formats of the game, and with the help of 31 centuries and 94 fifties, has managed to score 14,029 runs.
Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq holds the record for scoring the most runs for Pakistan in international cricket. During his 16-year-long career, Inzamam played 495 matches for the Men in Green and scored 20,541 runs. He is followed by Younis Khan (17,790), Mohammad Yousuf (17,134), and Javed Miandad (16,213).
Most runs for Pakistan in international cricket
- Inzamam-ul-Haq – 20,541
- Younis Khan – 17,790
- Mohammad Yousuf – 17,134
- Javed Miandad – 16,213
- Babar Azam – 14,029
By scoring 31 runs in the second T20I, which Pakistan went on to lose by 7 wickets, Babar has also closed the gap with Rohit Sharma in the list of batters with the most runs in T20Is. Babar has 4223 runs to his name in 128 matches played so far, whereas Rohit finished his 17-year-long T20I career with 4231 runs in 159 matches.
