Babar Azam achieves the unthinkable, surpasses Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to sit atop the men's T20I leaderboard

Babar has become the leading run-scorer in men's T20Is with 4234 runs to his name in 123 innings. He surpassed former India captain Rohit, who had amassed 4231 runs in 151 innings.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli called time on his career with 4188 runs to his name in 117 innings. While Babar (39.57) has maintained a higher average than Rohit (32.05), it pales in comparison to Virat's 48.69.

Among all three, Rohit maintained a higher strike rate. Speaking about Babar, he achieved the feat by taking a single off the bowling of Donovan Ferreira to long-off. The former Pakistan captain was recalled back into the T20I squad following criticism over his exclusion from the Asia Cup team.

Pakistan lost the Asia Cup after losing the summit clash to arch-rival India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and this resulted in the think tank including Babar back into the scheme of things ahead of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.

Also Read: Babar Azam's T20I return turns nightmare, left devastated in dressing room after duck in first 2026 World Cup audition

Babar is set to finish way ahead of Rohit and Virat in terms of run-scoring charts in T20Is, considering the Indian duo called time on their T20I career following the World Cup win in 2024. Babar's only notable competitor at this time appears to be England's Jos Buttler, who has 3,869 runs to his name in 132 innings.

Pakistan level three-match series

Hosts Pakistan levelled the three-match series against South Africa after winning the second T20I by nine wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Both teams will now face each other in the series decider at the same venue on Saturday, November 1.

Speaking about the second T20I, Faheem Ashraf returned with four wickets as Pakistan bundled out the Proteas for 110 in 19.2 overs. Opening batter Saim Ayub then returned with an unbeaten knock of 71 as Pakistan chased the target down easily.

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