NEW DELHI: In the third T20I match of Pakistan against Ireland, records were smashed with captain Babar Azam breaking a record held by India’s Virat Kohli, one of the most formidable batsmen around.
Pakistan won the next two matches to win the series after their first Twenty20I setback. On Tuesday, they defeated the hosts in Dublin by six wickets.
His 75 off 42 balls had five maximums and six boundaries; Babar was on top form with his bat, having gone through an innings like this.
With these kinds of performances that he has been posting since at least last year, he ranks first among batters in terms of scoring more than 50 runs in T20I format.
Babar scored more than 50 runs for the 39th time on this occasion – no other player has done better than that before him.
Kohli comes second on this list with fifty or more runs on 38 occasions in T20I cricket while Indian skipper Rohit Sharma holds that position for himself having done it thirty-four times.
Babar was also the first batsman from Pakistan to score twenty-five runs in an over
Babar’s four sixes off Benjamin White marked his first ever such hitting during a match. In addition to hitting sixes, Babar took a single to get 25 runs in an over.
The Pakistani pair made a partnership of one hundred and thirty nine runs together for their country at No.2 followed by Saim Ayub who failed to give them a perfect start until Mohammad Rizwan (56) and Babar combined perfectly for their team that helped them triumph over Ireland in their final encounter.
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This was the 10th-century partnership of the two Pakistan star batters in T20Is. They are the first ones to have done so. Moreover, they became the initial duo to achieve 3,000 runs together.
When it comes to T20 cricket, India’s opening pair Rohit and KL Rahul has five-century partnerships while Ireland’s pairing Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie have shared 2,043 runs between them.
Pakistan will be going on a trip to England once they are through with their three-match series against Ireland. Pakistan will thus be getting one last chance to set up its ideal combination ahead of the World Cup.
It is at Headingley Carnegie that a four-match T20I series will commence on May 22nd. On May 30th, there will be a decider between these sides at The Oval in London.