The former Pakistan National Cricket Team all-format captain Babar Azam has surpassed Virat Kohli in the list of leading run-getters in T20I cricket.
Babar Azam achieved this milestone in the third and final T20I of the series against the Australia National Cricket Team at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday, November 18.
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Babar Azam jumps past Virat Kohli
Babar Azam opened the innings with Sahibzada Farhan and Pakistan suffered an early blow as Farhan was cleaned up by Spencer Johnson for 9 in the 2nd over.
After losing his partner, the star batter Babar ensured he played well and didn’t let his side go under tremendous pressure. He batted with great intent and hit some great boundaries.
Babar was involved in a great 44-run partnership with Haseebullah Khan in 31 balls that put slight pressure on the hosts. During his innings, Babar went past Virat Kohli and became the 2nd highest run-getter in T20I cricket.
However, just after achieving the feat, he fell to Adam Zampa on the third ball of the 13th over. The Aussie leg-spinner bowled a googly and Babar walked out of the crease only to york himself out as his stumps were shattered.
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Babar walked back to the hut after scoring 41 runs off 28 balls, with 4 fours. This was the third time he fell to Zampa in 69 balls in T20I cricket. Meanwhile, his 41-run knock took his tally of runs to 4192, and he now is only behind Rohit Sharma in the list of highest run-scorers in T20Is.
Most runs in T20Is:
4231 – Rohit Sharma (140.89 SR)
4192- Babar Azam (129.22 SR)
4188 – Virat Kohli (137.04 SR)
3655 – Paul Stirling (134.87 SR)
3531 – Martin Guptill (135.70 SR)
3389 – Jos Buttler (147.02 SR)
3329 – Mohammad Rizwan (125.71 SR)
AUS vs PAK 3rd T20I: What captains said at the toss?
Salman Ali Agha stepped in for Mohammad Rizwan after the team management decided to rest the Pakistan skipper in the dead-rubber game after losing the first two T20Is. Agha won the toss and Pakistan elected to bat first in the match. Speaking at the toss, he said:
“Very excited. Looking forward to do well. Few changes. It’s a good wicket, want to put up a good total on the board.”
Josh Inglis, meanwhile, said that they are hoping to continue winning momentum and register a whitewash over the visitors. He said:
“Same team. Want to keep the momentum going and put in a good performance tonight. It’s a pretty good wicket, we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully get a few early wickets.”
Australia vs Pakistan 3rd T20I Playing XIs:
Australia (Playing XI): Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis(w/c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan(w), Usman Khan, Agha Salman(c), Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem
