Melbourne: Sydney Sixers star batsman Babar Azam equaled former England captain Jos Buttler’s T20 record during the Big Bash League (PBL) 15 clash against Melbourne Renegades at Docklands on Thursday.
Babur, who scored 58 runs off 46 balls, including four fours and a six, is now the third-highest fifty-scorer in T20 cricket, tied with Buttler with 97 fifties.
The former Pakistan captain reached the milestone in his 333rd T20I match, which included 11 centuries, while Buttler reached his name with eight centuries in 476 matches.
He holds the record for most fifties in the format with former Australian great David Warner, who scored 113 fifties in 428 matches.
Most T20 Fifties:
- David Warner – 113
- Virat Kohli – 105
- Babar Azam – 97
- Jos Buttler – 97
- Alex Hales – 92
The 31-year-old’s innings proved decisive as the Sydney Sixers cruised to a six-wicket victory over the Melbourne Renegades in the 18th match of the tournament.
Batting first, the Renegades were restricted to 164-9 in 20 overs, with opener Josh Brown scoring 43 off 19 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes.
Middle-order batsman Jake Fraser-McCurg scored 38 off 29 balls with 4 fours and Hasan Khan added 39 off 29 balls with 1 four and 3 sixes.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan fought back in the match, falling cheaply for a six off 10 balls.
For the Sixers, Sean Abbott led the bowling with figures of 3-16 from four overs. Jack Edwards, Ben Twarshuis and Hayden Kerr took two wickets each.
Chasing 165 runs, Sydney Sixers reached the target for the loss of 4 wickets in 19.1 overs. Babur anchored the innings with an unbeaten 58 off 46 balls with 4 fours and a six.
Opener Daniel Hughes scored 30 off 23 balls with 2 fours and a six while Joel Davies scored an unbeaten 34 off 15 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
The win moved the Sydney Sixers up to sixth in the BBL 15 points table with two wins and three losses from five games, four points and a net run rate of 0.202.
Melbourne Renegades are seventh with one win and three losses from four matches, two points and a net run rate of -0.879.