Karanbir Singh of the Austria national cricket team has broken the T20I records of Pakistan`s Mohammad Rizwan and Team India`s Suryakumar Yadav.
He entered the four-match T20I series against Romania, with 87 runs short of surpassing Rizwan`s record of 1326 runs, which was set in 2021, according to Wisden.
In the first match, Karanbir played a knock of 57 runs off just 27 deliveries. He then smashed 90 runs in 46 balls on October 18. Later, he scored 74 runs in 44 balls, followed by a 27-run knock off 12 balls.
With this, his tally went to 1488 runs in 32 innings, which in turn set a new benchmark. He also scored 1488 runs with a strike rate of 175, including 127 boundaries and 122 maximums.
The record for the maximums is double the previous highest six-count for a calendar year by Suryakumar Yadav`s 68 maximums, which came in 2022.
The previous record-holders for the most runs in a men`s T20I calendar year were Pakistan`s Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 1,326 runs in 2021, and India`s Suryakumar Yadav, who amassed 1,164 runs in 2022, according to Wisden.
In the fourth T20I at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground in Ilfov County, Karanbir`s teammate Bilal Zalmai became the fourth player this year to surpass 1,000 runs. Bahrain`s Fiaz Ahmed is closing in on the milestone, needing just 57 more runs to reach 1,000 for the calendar year.
Currently, Team India is busy engaging in the three-match ODI series against Australia. The “Men in Blue” have already lost the series, with the third and final game scheduled to be played on October 25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
After the conclusion of the 50-over format series, they will lock horns against Australia in the five-match T20I series. Suryakumar will be leading the Indian pack in the shortest format series against the Aussies.
The first match will be played on October 29 at the Manuka Oval. The second match of the shortest format series is scheduled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 31. The third and fourth clash is scheduled on November 2 and 6, respectively.
Ninja Stadium in Tasmania will host the third clash, whereas Heritage Bank Stadium will witness the fourth match.
The title clash of the T20I series between India and Australia is scheduled to be played at the iconic Gabba Stadium on November 8. All five T20I matches will begin at 1.45 PM IST.
(With ANI Inputs)