Babar Azam Goes Past Virat Kohli To Set New Milestone In Third T20I Vs South Africa | Cricket News

Babar Azam played a match-winning knock against South Africa (Picture credit: AP)

Ace Pakistan batter Babar Azam, on Saturday, November 1, went past his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli to become the player with the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is, scoring a 36-ball fifty in the third T20I against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Babar came to bat in a tricky situation and registered his 37th half-century in the format, surpassing Kohli in a huge milestone.

With this innings, Babar now holds the record for the most fifty-plus scores in T20Is, 37 half-centuries and three hundreds. He was level with Kohli, who has 38 fifties and one hundred.

Despite the early loss of Saim Ayub for a duck, Babar’s composed knock helped him go past Kohli to claim the milestone. This was Babar’s first T20I half-century since his innings vs Ireland in May 2024.

Most fifty-plus scores in T20Is

Babar Azam: 40

Virat Kohli: 39

Rohit Sharma: 37

Mohammad Rizwan: 31

David Warner: 29

After a silver duck in the series opener, Babar bounced back in the second T20I to script history, going past Rohit Sharma to become the highest run-scorer in T20I history. His 11-run innings was enough to take him past the latter’s tally and claim the top spot.

Rohit had amassed 4,231 runs in 159 games, but Babar went past that mark in just 130 matches to etch his name in the record books. In the very next game, he added another milestone, becoming the first cricketer in T20I history to smack 450 boundaries, underscoring his sublime stroke play.

Ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi took 3/26 to restrict South Africa to 139/9 before Babar’s 47-ball 68 helped Pakistan cross the target for the loss of six wickets in 19 overs for a 2-1 series victory.

South Africa won the first game by 55 runs in Rawalpindi, while Pakistan took the second by nine wickets in Lahore as well.

A full house of 32,000 at Gaddafi Stadium cheered the home boy Babar when he cracked three consecutive fours off Ottneil Baartman to reach his 37th fifty, his first after 13 T20I innings.