Babar Azam Matches Kohli With Landmark T20I Half-Century

Babar Azam pulled level with Virat Kohli’s record for the most T20I fifties, and Rawalpindi felt the moment. He pushed one into the covers, sprinted through, and the crowd burst instantly. The noise carried across the ground.

He reached his 38th half-century in the 14th over. It took him 43 balls. Four neat boundaries. No rush. No panic. He stayed calm while everything around him shook with excitement. To be honest, everyone sensed the milestone long before he got there.

Pakistan batted first and put up 195 for 5. They lost Saim Ayub early, and that shook the dugout for a moment, but Sahibzada Farhan and Babar stepped in and steadied things. They put on a 103-run stand that changed the mood. Farhan went after the bowlers from the start. He smashed 63 off 41 and cleared the rope three times. The crowd gasped when he fell in the 15th over. It felt like a big moment.

Babar kept the innings steady. He nudged, timed, then opened up in the end overs. His 74 off 52 carried seven fours and two clean strikes over the rope.

Fakhar Zaman added a late burst. Ten balls. Three sixes. Twenty-seven runs. He looked in that loose, fearless mood where every swing comes out sweet.

Zimbabwe relied on Sikandar Raza to slow Pakistan down. He grabbed two wickets and held things together when the total looked ready to explode past 200. Even then, Pakistan came close.

For context, Babar already leads the T20I run charts with 4,392 runs in 134 games. Now he sits level with Kohli for half-centuries. No doubt, this record will spark fresh debate about the top batters of modern T20 cricket.

Most Half Centuries in T20Is

• 38 – Virat Kohli (117 innings) and Babar Azam (127 innings)*
• 32 – Rohit Sharma (151 innings)
• 30 – Mohammad Rizwan (93 innings)
• 28 – David Warner (110 innings)
• 28 – Jos Buttler (132 innings)