India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan on Saturday became only the second Indian batter to score 1,000 or more T20I runs in a calendar year during the Asian Games gold-medal clash against Pakistan.
Kishan scored 20 off 18 balls, including three fours, in the final. He had earlier played a crucial unbeaten knock of 80 off 46 balls in India’s semifinal against Sri Lanka.
The left-hander has scored 1,005 runs in T20Is this year at an average of 37.22 and a strike rate of 169.47. His tally includes one century and seven fifties, with a best score of 103.
Suryakumar Yadav was the first Indian to achieve the feat, scoring 1,164 runs in 31 T20Is in 2022 at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of more than 187. His tally included two centuries and nine fifties.
Among batters from Test-playing nations, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan holds the record for most T20I runs in a calendar year. He scored 1,326 runs in 29 matches and 26 innings in 2021 at an average of 73.66 and a strike rate of more than 134, including one century and 12 fifties.
Austria’s Karanbir Singh holds the overall record for most T20I runs in a calendar year, having scored 1,488 runs in 32 matches and innings in 2025 at an average of 51.31 and a strike rate of more than 174. His tally included two centuries and 13 fifties.
India opted to bat first after winning the toss in the final. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 15 off nine balls, including two sixes, before being dismissed, while Abhishek Sharma produced an explosive 61 off 28 balls, with three fours and seven sixes.
Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored 21, steadied the innings before Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube provided the late impetus.
Tilak remained unbeaten on 51 off 22 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes, while Dube made an unbeaten 27 off 15 balls, with a four and two sixes, as India posted 211/6. The pair shared an unbeaten 62-run stand for the sixth wicket.
(ANI Inputs)
