With a boundary over short fine leg, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan has gone past Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain was the record-holder for most runs in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. Kohli found himself at the top of the list over the last decade, but Sahibzada has pushed him down one spot.
Sahibzada Farhan’s golden touch continues
Coming into the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match, a must-win game for the Men in Green to qualify for the semifinals, Sahibzada had scored 283 runs in 5 innings. This includes half-centuries against the USA and England and an unbeaten hundred against Namibia.
He was in an imperious touch. Sahibzada needed 37 runs to surpass Kohli on the elite list. But more importantly, he needed to score quick runs, as Pakistan’s qualification depended upon beating Sri Lanka by a huge margin and one-upping New Zealand. Luckily, Sahibzada managed to do both.
Most runs in an edition of T20 World Cup
| Batter | Team | Edition | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan | Pakistan | 2026 | 6 | 383 | 100* | 76.60 | 160.25 | 2 | 2 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 2014 | 6 | 319 | 77 | 106.33 | 129.14 | 0 | 4 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 2009 | 7 | 317 | 96* | 52.83 | 144.74 | 0 | 3 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 2021 | 6 | 303 | 70 | 60.60 | 126.25 | 0 | 4 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 2010 | 6 | 302 | 100 | 60.40 | 159.78 | 1 | 2 |
Pakistan will want Sahibzada to continue. Assuming the Salman Ali Agha-led team puts 200 on board, they’ll need to beat Sri Lanka by 65 or more runs. Now, to get there, Pakistan can’t afford for the run rate to drop. That can either be achieved if all Pakistan batters fire or someone like Sahibzada continues to anchor them to 200, as he did against Namibia.
