Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan continued his rich vein of form in T20 cricket as he smashed a breathtaking half-century in Pakistan’s historic victory over India in the opening encounter of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Rizwan scored 79 runs off 55 balls as Pakistan cruised past their arch-rivals in a ten-wicket win. During the innings, Rizwan crossed 1,500 runs in T20s in the calendar year, making him the second Pakistani batter to achieve the feat. Previously, Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam had scored crossed 1,500 T20 runs in 2019
Currently, he is the fourth-highest run-scorer in a calendar year in T20 cricket. South African, AB de Villiers, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, India’s Virat Kohli, and West Indian Chris Gayle are the only players that have scored more runs than him in a calendar year.
Rizwan has scored 1,541 runs at an average of 59.26 and a strike rate of 133.88 in 34 innings in 2021. He is the leading run-scorer in T20Is and T20s in 2021 and requires 124 more runs till the end of the year to become the leading run-scorer in T20s in a single calendar year.
Here is the list of leading run-scorers in a calendar year:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | 50+ |
| Chris Gayle | 36 | 1,665 | 59.46 | 13 |
| Virat Kohli | 29 | 1,614 | 89.66 | 18 |
| Babar Azam | 39 | 1,607 | 45.91 | 15 |
| AB De Villiers | 43 | 1,580 | 52.66 | 15 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 34 | 1,541 | 59.06 | 15 |
Here is the list of leading run-scorers in 2021:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | 50+ |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 34 | 1,541 | 59.06 | 15 |
| Babar Azam | 32 | 1,431 | 55.03 | 16 |
| Glenn Phillips | 48 | 1,289 | 34.83 | 9 |
| Liam Livingstone | 38 | 1,256 | 38.06 | 9 |
| Alex Hales | 38 | 1,197 | 37.40 | 6 |
Why do people claim babar azam with average of 46 to be better than virat kholi with an average of 90.