Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan enjoyed a dream run in 2021 in T20 cricket. He played a key role in helping Pakistan beat India for 1st time in World Cup history. He scored 79 runs off 55 balls and stitched a match-winning stand with Babar Azam to snare a 10-wicket victory.
As Rizwan comes to terms with the swashbuckling run he has had this year, the talented cricketer credited Babar for most of his success saying batting beside the World No.1 batsman made his job a lot easier.
“When you have the World No.1 with you at the crease, you don’t need to worry about anything. All you’ve got to do is to observe and learn from the best. The key to our successful partnership is our communication. We keep taking singles, keep setting small targets, target some fielders, which in turn makes it easier for us to dominate,” in an interview posted by PCB.
“I wouldn’t want to take the credit for this. I would give the credit to the management and the captain who pushed me up the batting order and helped me perform the whole year,” he added.
The only pair with four 150+ stands in men's T20Is: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan 🙌 https://t.co/8HBvGQ9lOY pic.twitter.com/V7MR1RUany
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 17, 2021
Mohammad Rizwan finishes with 1326 runs under his belt from 29 outings at an average of 73.66, including a century and 12 fifties. In the process, he has scaled a plethora of records in the shortest format of the game.
Here is a look at 3 extraordinary records broken by Mohammad Rizwan.
#4 First batter to hit 100 fours in a calendar year in T20Is
Before 2021, no player had smashed 100 fours in a calendar year in T20Is. Mohammad Rizwan achieved the feat in what has been an eventful year for Pakistan cricket.
In 29 matches, he smashed 119 fours. Mohammad Rizwan’s captain Babar Azam fell short of becoming the second player to achieve the feat. He ended up hitting 99 fours to go with 17 sixes.
#2 First batsman to score 1000+ runs in T20I cricket
Mohammad Rizwan also became the first batsman to score more than 1000 runs in T20I cricket. He played 29 matches for Pakistan in the T20 format and slammed 1326 runs at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of 134.89. He struck one hundred and 12 fifties during the T20I season.
The previous record for most runs in a calendar year in T20Is was held by Paul Stirling, who smashed 748 runs in 20 matches in 2019. Stirling’s runs came at a strike rate of 140.60 and included eight fifties.
#3 Most 50 Plus Scores In T20I
Pakistan’s rich success in the shortest format of the game in this calendar year can mostly be attributed to Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s superlative run at the top of the order.
Mohammad Rizwan has amassed 12 50+ scores in 2021 alone which is the most achieved by a batsman in this calendar year. His captain Babar Azam is behind him with ten half-centuries which he achieved this year.
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