Pakistan cricket team fans had a reason to celebrate despite their T20I series loss to England as their formidable opening pair Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan etched their names in the record books with their impressive performances in the fourth and final game at London’s Kennington Oval. on Thursday, May 30.
Babar and Rizwan continue to etch their names in cricket history as the Pakistani cricket stalwarts are now one of the most prolific opening pairs in the shortest format of the game. On May 30, during the fourth T20I against England at the Oval, they achieved a notable milestone – becoming the most successful opening pair in the history of T20 cricket.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan break Virat Kohli-Chris Gayle’s huge T20 record
With a strong opening stand of 59 runs in the fourth and final T20I match against England, Babar and Rizwan surpassed the previous record of having the most opening partnerships of 50+ runs in T20 cricket held by Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). ) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
This record partnership marked the 24th instance of crossing the 50-run mark for the first wicket in T20 cricket, surpassing RCB’s iconic opening pair Kohli-Gayle who had 23 fifty-plus stands. Babar and Rizwan’s tally now stands at an impressive 24 partnerships of fifty runs or more.
Notably, the Pakistan cricket team’s star maiden team-record feat includes an impressive partnership of ten centuries, which demonstrated their prowess and reliability at the top of the order. However, Pakistan lost the last game by 7 wickets to lose the T20I series to England on Thursday.
Babar Azam joins Virat Kohli in T20I cricket’s 4000-run club
Meanwhile, Babar Azam achieved another important milestone during the fourth and final T20I match against England at London’s Kennington Oval. Following in the footsteps of Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli, Babar became the second batsman in the world to amass 4000 runs in the history of T20 international cricket.
The Pakistan captain needed just 13 runs to reach this prestigious milestone, and he achieved it in style by hitting two consecutive boundaries off the bowling of Chris Jordan in the fourth over of his team’s batting against England. However, he made 36 runs off 22 balls in the final match at the Oval.
Most runs in T20I Cricket:
Virat Kohli – 4037 runs (109 innings)
Babar Azam – 4023* runs (112 innings)
Rohit Sharma – 3974 runs (143 innings)
Paul Stirling – 3589* (142 matches)
Martin Guptill – 3531 (122)
Notably, Babar and Kohli will be seen in action in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the US and the Caribbean, starting June 2. While Pakistan will begin their campaign against the USA on June 6 in Texas, Team India will play their first match against Ireland on June 5 in New York.
They will lock horns in the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2024 clash between India and Pakistan on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.