KEY POINTS

  • Babar Azam completed 2,000 T20I runs in 52 innings
  • He has scored a total of 2,035 runs in T20Is at an average of 47.32
  • He also has scored a century in the T20Is, something that eludes Virat Kohli

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam beat Virat Kohli's world record in the Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) during his side's 24-run win over Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Babar became the fastest batsman to reach 2,000 T20I runs when he scored a 46-ball 52 during the third T20I between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club stadium. While Kohli took 56 innings to complete 2,000 runs in the shortest format, Babar achieved the milestone in four fewer innings.

Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is third on the list, who got to 2,000 T20I runs in 62 innings ahead of former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum (66 innings) and opening BlackCaps batsman Martin Guptill (68 innings).

The 26-year-old, who registered his 18th T20I half-century on Sunday, was the third batsman from Pakistan to enter the 2,000-club after Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Mallik. Overall, Babar became the 11th batsman to complete 2,000 runs in T20I cricket.

Earlier, Babar had even surpassed Kohli's record of being the fastest to 1,000 T20I runs. Kohli took 27 innings to get to the landmark, while Babar took one innings less. However, both the batsmen were later beaten by the current World No. 1 T20I batsman Dawid Maland, who completed 1,000 T20I runs in only 24 innings.

While Kohli remained in the fifth spot, Babar recently elevated to No. 2 in the ICC T20I Rankings. The Indian captain has scored a total of 3,159 runs in 84 T20I at an average of 52.65, including 28 half-centuries. Kohli, who has 70 international centuries to his name, is yet to score a triple-digit score in the T20Is. Babar has 2,035 T20I runs to his name in 52 innings, which includes a century and 18 fifties.

Virat Kohli
In this picture, Virat Kohli poses after being named Man of the Match during the first ODI cricket match between South Africa and India at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, Feb. 1, 2018. ANESH DEBIKY/AFP/Getty Images

Babar, who made his international debut for Pakistan in 2015, has evolved as one of their best limited-overs batters. He also holds the record for being the joint-second fastest batsman to 2,000 One-Day International (ODI) runs – 45 innings, along with England's Kevin Pietersen and Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas. The fastest batsman to 2,000 ODI runs is former South Africa captain Hashim Amla (40 innings).

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