Babar Azam Equals Virat Kohli’s Milestone

Pakistan’s former captain Babar Azam added another significant achievement to his glittering career on Sunday, matching a major milestone previously held by India’s Virat Kohli. While Kohli has already retired from T20 internationals, Babar continues to extend his legacy in the shortest format.

Playing against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi, Babar produced a commanding innings of 74 from 52 deliveries, striking seven fours and two sixes. With this half-century, he drew level with Kohli’s record of 38 T20 international fifties, a feat widely regarded as one of the most difficult to achieve in modern T20 cricket.

Kohli accumulated 4,188 runs from 125 matches, scoring one century alongside his 38 fifties. Babar, however, has surpassed him in total runs, amassing 4,392 in 134 matches, including three centuries. His greater number of innings has allowed him to expand the statistical rivalry between the two batting greats, often compared due to their consistency and elegant strokeplay.

Babar’s innings on Sunday also saw him move past Bangladesh’s former captain Tamim Iqbal in career runs across all three formats. Tamim, who played 391 international matches, scored 15,249 runs with 25 centuries and 94 fifties.

Babar, by contrast, has reached 15,259 runs in just 334 matches—an impressive testament to his remarkable consistency across formats. With 32 centuries and 105 fifties overall, he now stands among the most prolific run-scorers of his generation.

The twin milestones underline what many analysts already believe: Babar Azam is establishing himself as one of the modern era’s premier batters, and with several years ahead of him, more records are likely to fall in his wake.