[Hindustan Times]England vs Pakistan: Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch’s T20I record

Pakistan may have suffered a five-wicket loss to England in the 2nd T20I at the Old Trafford in Manchester but their limited-overs skipper Babar Azam etched his name in the record books on Sunday. The right-handed batsman became the joint fastest along with India captain Virat Kohli and Australia limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch to complete 1,500 runs in T20Is.

Babar, who was 29-run short of 1,500, achieved the feat in his 39th innings, the same as Kohli and Finch. Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the T20I format. He has scored 2794 runs in 82 games so far while India vice-captain Rohit Sharma is second in the list with 2773 runs in 108 matches, followed by Kiwi opener Martin Guptill, Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik, and Australia’s David Warner.

Also read: Eoin Morgan leads England to victory in record chase against Pakistan

Babar also went past Kohli to claim the top spot in highest batting averages (minimum 500 runs) in the shortest format of the game. Babar, who scored 56 off 44 balls in a losing cause, currently averages 50.90 in T20Is – the highest among any player.

Previously Virat Kohli held the No. 1 spot with an average of 50.80. However, it must be noted that Kohli has played more than double the number of matches (82) as compared to Babar (40).

Coming back to the 2nd T20I between England and Pakistan, skipper Eoin Morgan belted a blistering half-century as England chased down a record target at Old Trafford to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second Twenty20 international on Sunday.

Pakistan posted 195 for four in their 20 overs on a flat wicket, but the home side completed their victory with five balls to spare and a take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Morgan blasted 66 from 33 balls to secure the win in what is the highest chase in any form of 20-over cricket at Old Trafford.

(With inputs from Reuters, ANI)