Pakistan’s premier batter Babar Azam etched his name deeper into cricket history on Sunday by becoming the most prolific half-century scorer in men’s T20 internationals, overtaking India’s Virat Kohli in the process.
The landmark came during Pakistan’s third T20I against Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium, where the 31-year-old played a composed and unbeaten knock of 50 from 36 balls, striking three fours and a six to anchor the innings.
This was Babar’s 39th half-century in the format, moving him ahead of Kohli’s tally of 38. Kohli had previously held the record before retiring from T20Is following India’s triumph at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year.
Former India captain Rohit Sharma sits third on the list with 37 fifties, while Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan follows with 31. Australia’s David Warner rounds out the top five with 29 half-centuries.
Beyond this achievement, Babar also remains the leading run-scorer in men’s T20 internationals, amassing 4,505 runs in 139 innings. He boasts an impressive average of 39.51, a strike rate of 128.38, and has scored three centuries in the shortest format.
Babar’s steady innings provided crucial support to aggressive contributions from Saim Ayub and Shadab Khan, helping Pakistan post their highest-ever T20I total against Australia. The hosts finished on 207 for six in their allotted 20 overs.
Saim led the scoring with a fluent 56 off 37 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. Babar followed with his unbeaten fifty, while Shadab injected late momentum with a rapid 46 from just 19 deliveries, clearing the boundary five times and finding four fours to cap a dominant batting display.
