Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Mohammad Rizwan, a top-order batter for Pakistan, scored 78 runs off 50 balls against Bangladesh in the first game of the triangular series in New Zealand on Thursday. This made him the third player in the world to score 1500 or more T20 runs in a calendar year.
Chris Gayle and Babar Azam, who is from the same country as Rizwan, also hold this record. Gayle had 1532 runs in 2012 and 1665 runs in 2015. Babar had 1607 runs in 2019 and 1779 runs in 2021.
Read Mohammad Rizwan beats Babar Azam’s record in T20Is
In his unbeaten innings on Thursday, Rizwan hit two sixes and seven shots over the fence. This brought his total number of T20 runs in 2022 to over 1500.
Last year, Rizwan scored a total of 2036 runs in T20 games. So far this year, he has scored 1519 runs in professional games of the shortest format.
This was Rizwan’s 58th T20I innings, and with 78 runs, he passed Babar Azam on the list of players with the total runs after 58 T20I innings.
Rizwan has 2337 runs in 58 international T20 innings, while Babar has 2281 runs. India’s Virat Kohli scored 2,012 runs in his first 58 T20I matches.
The wicketkeeper who bats has also passed Jos Buttler on the list of players who have scored the most runs as the designated wicketkeeper in T20Is.
Rizwan got 2196 of his 2337 runs as a wicketkeeper in T20Is. When he scored his second run today, he passed Buttler. As a wicketkeeper batter, Buttler has scored 2119 runs.
When he wasn’t the wicketkeeper, Rizwan had only scored 141 runs in T20Is. He did this in only four innings.
