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It’s lonely at the top, so the saying goes.
Nothing shows that better than the fact that only six batters have registered 3500 or more runs in T20 cricket. The figure thins out further as you reach 4,000 runs.
Below, we list the five fastest batters to register 3,500 or more runs.
1. Virat Kohli
- India
- 96 innings to reach 3,500 T20I runs
Kohli is the only member of the famed Fab Four who dominated all three formats. Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson tried hard but never quite stamped their authority in T20 cricket. However, something has to be said about Williamson’s ability to carve a decent T20 career.
Kohli, on the other hand, did more than just construct a respectable T20 career. His name is synonymous with Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has a T20 World Cup gold medal, and boasts the fewest innings to reach 3500 runs in T20Is.
The Indian megastar achieved an outstanding double when he reached the milestone, and he did it in style too. He got there with a brilliant century against Pakistan in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup.
The tournament was also the beginning of a new age for Kohli in T20Is; he batted with more intent. Kohli scored 276 runs in five innings, striking at 147.59 at the tournament.
2. Babar Azam
- Pakistan
- 99 innings to reach 3,500 T20I runs
Babar Azam catches a lot of flak for his approach in T20Is. His average of 39.8 is incongruous with his strike rate of 129, which justifies the criticism.
It is nowhere near elite, and Azam is one of the best batters to play international cricket. It is possible that, like Smith, he is great at Test cricket, outstanding in ODIs, but not built for T20 cricket.
However, despite his low overall strike rate in the format, Azam could turn on the afterburners. In April 2021, He bludgeoned 15 fours and four sixes on his way to a 59-ball 122 against South Africa.
His strike rate of 206.8 was a glimpse of the destruction he was capable of. Unfortunately, he doesn’t activate that mode often enough.
The century was one of two that he scored in his first 99 innings. They were accompanied by 27 half-centuries.
3. Martin Guptill
- New Zealand
- 118 innings to reach 3,500 T20I runs
Five New Zealand batters, Colin Munro, Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, Brendon McCullum, and Martin Guptill, have two or more centuries in T20Is. Munro is the only one with three to his name, and Guptill is the only one with 3500 or more runs in the format.
For the purposes of this list, McCullum paced his career perfectly. He reached 3500 runs in his final outing for New Zealand in T20Is. However, unlike Kohli, who reached the landmark with a brilliant century, Guptill passed the milestone through a 27-ball 34.
Also read – Ranked: Most wickets in T20 cricket > 4 of the top 5 are spinners; who is the only seamer?
4. Jos Buttler
- England
- 120 innings to reach 3,500 T20I runs
You can bet on three things when Buttler takes guard: he will ask the umpire for middle stump, he will wiggle his shoulder numerous times as he waits for the ball, and he will play his trademark scoop at a certain point in the innings.
Buttler doesn’t have a special reason for taking his guard on middle stump, he has just done so since he was a youngster.
He wiggles his shoulder to relax any tension in his right shoulder, and he plays the scoop because it helps him to access the vacant area behind the wicketkeeper.
Buttler did these three things in his first 120 innings as he blasted his way past 3500 T20I runs. His average of 35.9 at a strike rate of 147 is a true reflection of the calibre of T20I player the England star is.
5. Rohit Sharma
- India
- 126 innings to reach 3,500 T20I runs
Suryakumar Yadav blew everyone’s minds with his 26-ball 68, Virat Kohli scored 59 runs from 44 balls, and a starstruck Hong Kong side cooed over Kohli playing against them in a match.
They were so overjoyed that they gifted him a shirt and jersey with a heartfelt message. All that happened in Rohit Sharma’s 126th innings.
The India superstar managed a 13-ball 21. The high-impact score, while not a big one, helped towards India’s 192/2, and it also took him over the 3500-mark. He became the fifth fastest batter to reach the milestone in T20Is.
Like Kohli, he fielded several Hong Kong players who had questions and also wanted to take pictures with him.
Paul Stirling rounds up the list of batters with 3500 runs or more in T20Is. The Irish star passed the 3500-run mark in 2024, in his 136th innings.
Fastest to 3,500 T20I runs – summary list
1. Virat Kohli: 96 innings
2. Babar Azam: 99 innings
3. Martin Guptill: 118 innings
4. Jos Buttler: 120 innings
5. Rohit Sharma:126 innings
Read next: Did Chris Gayle get named in this West Indies’ best Test XI of the past 40 years?
The post Fastest to 3,500 T20I runs: Only 6 batters have reached this milestone, but who reached it the quickest? appeared first on Cricket365.
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