Babar Azam overtakes Virat Kohli in T20I run chart with standout knock against Australia

Buried under scrutiny for his prolonged dry spell, Babar Azam delivered a striking knock in the third and final Australia vs Pakistan T20I. The Australia tour of Pakistan marked Azam's first series since relinquishing his captaincy in white-ball cricket. Pakistan entered the final T20I after missing the chance to secure a series victory against the Kangaroos. Mohammad Rizwan, who succeeded Babar as the white-ball captain, opted to rest for the final match of the series, with Agha Salman stepping in as the stand-in captain. Despite Pakistan's forgettable collapse, Babar stood out with his 41 off 28, emerging as the team’s sole performer with the bat.

Babar Azam surpasses Virat Kohli in T20I record following an impressive knock in the final Australia vs Pakistan match

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Babar Azam is in the midst of the biggest slump of his career. It has been over two years since the batter scored even a half-century for Pakistan in the longest format. Although Babar stepped down from his white-ball captaincy to focus on regaining his batting form, the story remained the same in Australia. During the historic ODI series, where Pakistan secured a landmark victory over Australia on their home turf, Azam's bat stayed quiet. In the T20I series, he managed just 3 runs in each of the first two matches. However, the tables turned, even if not a complete 180 degrees, significant enough to showcase a notable improvement in Azam's strike rate. The former skipper smashed 41 off 28 balls in an innings where the rest of the Pakistan lineup faltered in Hobart.

Despite his effort of 41 runs off 28 balls, Pakistan fell short, resulting in a loss. However, Babar’s innings helped him surpass Virat Kohli and edge closer to Rohit Sharma’s world record for most runs in T20I cricket. His knock, featuring four boundaries, ended in the 13th over when Adam Zampa claimed his wicket. With this performance, Babar climbed to the second spot on the all-time T20I run-scorers list, amassing 4192 runs in 119 innings. Kohli, who now occupies the third position, has 4188 runs from 125 matches. Babar is now just 40 runs away from overtaking Rohit Sharma, the current leader with 4231 runs in 159 T20Is.

Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled around Babar, collapsing to 117 all out in 18.1 overs. Aaron Hardie was instrumental with the ball, taking 3/21, while Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson picked up two wickets each. In response, Marcus Stoinis powered Australia to a dominant seven-wicket victory with an unbeaten 61 off just 27 balls, sealing a 3-0 series sweep.