Peshawar Zalmi’s captain, Babar Azam delivered another outstanding performance during the first eliminator of the ongoing eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
In a highly exciting encounter, Babar scored a scintillating half-century against Islamabad United at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, leading his team to a superb 12-run victory.
While batting first, the right-handed batter scored 64 runs off 39 balls, including 10 boundaries, helping Peshawar Zalmi post a defendable total of 184 runs on the board.
With this match-winning innings, the 28-year-old batter surpassed West Indian batting great, Chris Gayle, on the list of fastest 9,000 runs in the shortest format.
The Lahore-born cricketer reached the milestone in just 245 T20 innings, four innings fewer than the former West Indies captain, who had completed 9,000 runs in 249 matches.
Meanwhile, former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, is third on the list, achieving the milestone in 271 innings, followed by Australian opener, David Warner, who did it in 273 innings.
| Batter | Country | Innings |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 245 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 249 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 271 |
| David Warner | Australia | 273 |
It is pertinent to mention here that Babar is the second Pakistani batter to complete 9,000 T20 runs after Shoaib Malik, who has so far scored 12,528 runs in the shortest format.
Babar Azam will lead Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator of the ongoing season against Lahore Qalandars today at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Find out all about the world of the Pakistan Super League! PSL 2023, PSL Schedule, PSL Points Table, PSL Squads
