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Virat Kohli entered his name in the history books on Thursday by breaking Babar Azam’s record of most 50+ scores in T20s while batting first.
Virat Kohli breaks Babar Azam’s record of most 50+ scores in T20s while batting first. (Picture Credit: Sportzpics, AFP)
Virat Kohli is playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025, and on Thursday (April 24) he top-scored for the Bengaluru-based franchise against Rajasthan Royals in the match currently underway at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Kohli opened the innings for the Rajat Patidar-led side and with the help of eight fours and two sixes, scored 70 runs from 42 balls. The half-century on Thursday was Kohli’s fifth 50+ score in IPL 2025, and his 70-run knock also helped him rise to second position in the list of leading run scorers (392 runs).
The second fifty in a row also helped Kohli break former Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam’s world record of most 50-plus scores while batting first in T20s.
Babar, who is playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 these days, has scored 61 fifty-plus scores in T20s while batting first, whereas the half-century against RR in Bengaluru was Kohli’s 62nd fifty-plus score while batting first in the 20-over format of the game.
Most 50-plus scores batting first in T20s
- 62 – Virat Kohli (India)
- 61 – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
- 57 – Chris Gayle (West Indies)
- 55 – David Warner (Australia)
- 52 – Jos Buttler (England)
- 52 – Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Kohli has overall scored 111 fifty-plus scores in T20s, which is one more than former West Indies opener Chris Gayle’s tally of 110. During his 17-year-long T20 career, Gayle played for more than a dozen teams and registered 110 fifty-plus scores in 463 T20 matches.
Only former Australian opener David Warner, who is playing for Karachi Kings in PSL 2025, has more 50-plus scores to his name in T20s than Kohli.
Most 50-plus scores in T20s
| POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | 50+ SCORES |
| 1. | David Warner | Australia | 404 | 117 |
| 2. | Virat Kohli | India | 408* | 111* |
| 3. | Chris Gayle | West Indies | 463 | 110 |
| 4. | Babar Azam | Pakistan | 314 | 101 |
| 5. | Jos Buttler | England | 442 | 95 |
Kohli added 61 runs in 6.4 overs for the first wicket with England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt (26 from 23 balls) and 95 runs for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal (50 runs from 27 balls). Like Kohli, Padikkal had also scored a half-century in the last IPL 2025 match played against Punjab Kings as well.
During his stay at the crease on Thursday, Padikkal hammered four fours and three sixes. The back-to-back half-centuries by the two Indian batters helped RCB post a total of 205 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.
