Pak vs Ban: Rizwan becomes world's 3rd batter to make over 1500 T20 runs in a year

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top order batter Mohammad Rizwan became on Thursday the third batter in the world to score 1500 or more T20 runs in a calendar year after his superb innings of 78 from 50 deliveries against Bangladesh in the opening game of the triangular series in New Zealand.

The other two holding this record are Chris Gayle and Rizwan’s countryman Babar Azam. Gayle had made 1532 runs and 1665 in 2012 and 2015 respectively and Babar 1607 in 2019 and 1779 in 2021.

During Thursday's match, Rizwan smashed two sixes and stroked seven shots to the fence in his unbeaten innings which took his overall T20 runs tally in the calendar year 2022 past 1500.

Rizwan who had scored total 2036 T20 runs last year, has so far scored 1519 runs this year in overall professional games of shortest format.

This was Rizwan’s 58th T20 international innings and the score of 78 has taken him ahead of Babar Azam in the list of most aggregate runs after 58 T20I innings.

Rizwan has an aggregate of 2337 runs from 58 international innings in T20s while Babar at this stage had 2281 runs. India’s Virat Kohli had 2012 runs from initial 58 innings of his T20I career.

The wicketkeeper-batter has also surpassed England’s Jos Buttler in the list of players scoring most runs as designated wicketkeeper in T20Is.

Of his 2337 runs, Rizwan scored 2196 runs as wicket-keeper in T20Is. He surpassed Buttler today when he took 2nd run of his inning. Buttler has scored 2119 runs as wicket-keeper batter.

Rizwan has only 4 innings as non-wicket-keeper in T20Is in which he scored 141 runs.