-1790843469877_v.webp)
Ishan Kishan continued his impressive run in T20 cricket as he smashed an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls against Sri Lanka in the Asian Games semifinal in Japan.
The southpaw walked in when India were in a spot of bother at 87/4 and produced a counter-attacking knock to help his team reach 169/7 in 20 overs.
Kishan struck four boundaries and five sixes during his innings and scored at a strike rate of 173.91.
His half-century also helped him surpass Virat Kohli’s tally of seven fifty-plus scores in T20Is during 2016. Kishan has now recorded eight such scores in the calendar year.
Kishan Chasing Suryakumar’s Record
Kishan is also closing in on another major Indian record. He has scored 985 runs in 28 T20Is this year at an average of 37.88 and a strike rate of 171.3. His tally includes one century and seven fifties.
The wicketkeeper-batter needs just 80 more runs to surpass Suryakumar Yadav’s record for the most T20I runs by an Indian in a calendar year.
Suryakumar had scored 1,164 runs in 31 T20Is in 2022 at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of more than 187. His remarkable year included two centuries and nine fifties.
Suryakumar still holds the Indian record for the most fifty-plus scores in a calendar year, with nine in 2022.
ALSO READ: IND vs WI: Massive Blow For India As Superstar Pacer Ruled Out Of Third ODI vs West Indies
Rizwan Holds Global Record Among Test Nations
The overall record for most T20I runs in a calendar year by a batter from a Test-playing nation belongs to Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan scored 1,326 runs in 29 matches and 26 innings in 2021. He averaged 73.66 and struck at more than 134, while also hitting one century and 12 fifties.
The overall calendar-year record in T20Is belongs to Austria’s Karanbir Singh, who amassed 1,488 runs in 32 matches and innings in 2025. He averaged 51.31 and scored at a strike rate of more than 174, with two centuries and 13 fifties.
Ishan Rescues India After Top-Order Collapse
India were put into bat after Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave India a quick start with 38 off 21 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. However, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson could not make much of an impact, both falling for single-digit scores.
India were struggling at 87/4 before Kishan took charge.
The wicketkeeper-batter attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers and stayed unbeaten until the end, taking India to 169/7 from their 20 overs.
For Sri Lanka, Sahan Arachchige and Tharindu Ratnayake picked up two wickets each, conceding 28 and 32 runs respectively.
SL received jolts at regular intervals, with Nuwanidu Fernando (15) being the sole batter with 10-plus runs. Jasprit Bumrah (2/7), Axar Patel (3/8), Abhishek Sharma (2/2) and Washington Sundar (1/18) skittled out SL for just 45 in 9.5 overs.
