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Mohammad Shahzad goes past Virat Kohli in T20I career runs

Shahzad went past Kohli’s tally of 1,709 runs during 3rd T20I against Ireland. He is now overall fourth on the list of most runs in T20Is.

© AFP (File Photo)
Of current players, Shahzad is behind only Guptill in T20I career runs, with McCullum and Dilshan already having retired from the game © AFP (File Photo)

Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad went past Virat Kohli in terms of T20I career runs on Sunday during the third and final T20I against Ireland at the Greater NOIDA Sports Complex, NOIDA, India. He went past Kohli when he scored his third run in the match. Shahzad had 1,707 runs from 57 innings of as many games at 31.61 before this match. He went past Kohli’s tally of 1,709 runs with a four of the second ball of the match, bowled by Barry McCarthy. The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman is now overall fourth on the list of most runs in T20Is, behind Brendon McCullum (2,140 runs), Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) and Martin Guptill (1,806).

Of current players, Shahzad is behind only Guptill, with McCullum and Dilshan already having retired from the game. He had a chance of going past Guptill today, but perished when he holed out to George Dockrell off Jacob Mulder, for 72. He finished the day 27 short of Guptill. Full Cricket Scorecard, Afghanistan vs Ireland, 3rd T20I at Greater Noida

Kohli, whose 1,709 runs were surpassed on Sunday, remains in contention of going past Shahzad once again — for he has got his runs at a whopping average of 53.40 (only player to have a 50-plus average in T20Is with a 1,000-run cut-off) in just 44 innings of 48 games. The rate at which the Kohli is going, he will not take long to overtake Shahzad once again.

Earlier this year too Shahzad had surpassed Kohli in another aspect of the shortest format. Shahzad registered four fifties in the Desert T20, thus breaking Kohli’s record for most T20I fifties in an ICC tournament. Kohli had hit three fifties in the ICC World T20 last year.

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