Rawalpindi lit up under the evening skies as Babar Azam, with trademark elegance and assured timing, crafted an innings that carried far more weight than the 74 runs listed beside his name. In front of an expectant crowd, he delivered not just another half-century but one that brought him level with Virat Kohli’s long-standing record of 38 T20 international fifties.
Kohli, who no longer features in T20Is, has often been considered the gold standard for consistency in the format. Yet on Sunday, Babar quietly stepped into the same frame, matching a milestone that once seemed unreachable for any contemporary batter.
His 52-ball knock, laced with seven crisp boundaries and two magnificent sixes, showed the full breadth of his skill—control, finesse and an almost serene sense of timing. But the milestones did not end there. As he eased his way through the innings, Babar overtook Tamim Iqbal’s career tally across formats, pushing his aggregate to 15,259 runs and surpassing the Bangladeshi great’s 15,249.
Where Tamim needed 391 matches to build his mountain of runs, Babar has climbed higher in only 334. His count of 32 centuries and 105 fifties reflects a career defined by relentless hunger and renewed discipline.
And then there is the inevitable comparison. Kohli vs Babar—two batters separated by style, generation and temperament yet united by their ability to dominate all kinds of bowling. With 4,392 T20I runs already in his account, Babar’s numbers now place him firmly in the same realm.
Rawalpindi witnessed more than just an innings—it watched a chapter being added to Babar Azam’s growing legend.