New Zealand is hosting Pakistan for a 5-match T20I series. In the first match of the series played at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand won the match by 46 runs and took the lead in the series. On a fantastic batting wicket, Pakistan elected to bowl first and New Zealand ensured that they made the most of this opportunity and put a massive 226 runs on the board with the loss of 8 wickets. In reply, Pakistan started their innings positively. With the help of some amazing hittings by Saim Ayub, they managed to put 33 runs on board in just 2.2 overs before losing their first wicket and then they kept losing their wickets on regular intervals thereon and eventually lost the match. Babar Azam was the highest run scorer from Pakistan with 57 runs at a strike rate of 162.86.
Babar Azam now has 3542 runs in 105 games and he surpassed Martin Guptill’s tally of 3531 runs in 122 games to become the third-highest run-getter in T20Is. He is only behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the list of highest run-getters in T20Is. Former Indian captain Virat Kohli leads the list with 4008 runs in 115 appearances, followed by Rohit Sharma, who has 3863 runs in a record 149 T20I games.
Top 5 highest run-getters in T20Is
Virat Kohli: 4008 runs in 115 Matches
Rohit Sharma: 3863 runs in 149 Matches
Babar Azam: 3542 runs in 105 Matches
Martin Guptill: 3531 runs in 122 Matches
Paul Stirling: 3438 runs in 134 Matches
In the bowling department and a scintillating display of pace bowling, New Zealand’s veteran cricketer Tim Southee became the first bowler in the history of T20 Internationals to reach the milestone of 150 wickets by picking 4 wickets for 25 runs in the opening encounter with Pakistan.
Top 5 wicket-takers in T20Is
Tim Southee: 151 Wickets in 118 Matches
Shakib Al Hasan: 140 Wickets in 117 Matches
Rashid Khan: 130 Wickets in 82 Matches
Ish Sodhi: 127 Wickets in 106 Matches
