Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli's T20I half-centuries record

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan ace batter Babar Azam equalled India’s Virat Kohli’s record for the most half-centuries in T20I cricket during the tri-series fixture against Zimbabwe.

The right-hander notched up his 38th half-century here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, reaching the landmark in the 14th over off 43 balls with four boundaries.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 195-5 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Sahibzada Farhan’s and Babar Azam’s gutsy knocks.

Most fifties in T20Is

• 38 – Virat Kohli (117 innings)
• 38 – Babar Azam (127 innings)*
• 32 – Rohit Sharma (151 innings)
• 30 – Mohammad Rizwan (93 innings)
• 28 – David Warner (110 innings)
• 28 – Jos Buttler (132 innings)

After losing Saim Ayub in the second over, Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam forged a 103-run stand.

Overall, Farhan, who remained the core aggressor, made 63 from 41 balls, laced with three maximums and four boundaries, while Babar played the second fiddle and hit two sixes and seven fours on his way to 74 from 52 balls.

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Sahibzada departed in the 15th over when Pakistan were cruising at 132 in 15.2 overs.

Nonetheless, it was Fakhar Zaman’s cameo in the last over that took Pakistan near the 200-run mark. The southpaw, who came down the order, hit three sixes in his 27 from just 10 balls.

For Zimbabwe, Sikandar Raza picked up two wickets in his quota of four overs.

For the unversed, Babar Azam is already leading the run charts in T20I cricket as he has amassed 4392 runs to his name in 134 matches with the help of 38 fifties and three centuries.

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