Sahibzada Farhan breaks Virat Kohli's all-time T20 World Cup record

KANDY: In-form Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan on Saturday broke Virat Kohli's 12-year-old record of scoring the most runs in a single edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Farhan, who entered the high-stakes Super Eights match against Sri Lanka here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium with 283 runs to his name in five innings, amassed the milestone when he brought up his 37th run by smashing Dasun Shanaka for a boundary on the first delivery of the sixth over.

As a result, the 29-year-old surpassed Kohli, who accumulated 319 runs in the 2014 edition of the men's T20 World Cup at an astounding average of 106.33.

The elusive list further features Pakistan's Babar Azam and Sri Lanka's legendary duo of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene.

Most runs in a men's T20 World Cup edition

• Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan) – 337 runs in 2026

• Virat Kohli (India) – 319 runs in 2014

• Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 317 in 2009

• Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 303 in 2021

• Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 302 in 2010

Meanwhile, when this story was filed, Farhan had further bolstered his tally to 337 by smashing his third half-century of the ongoing 20-team tournament, spearheading Pakistan's flamboyant start in the high-stakes fixture as the 2009 champions were well placed at 90/0 in 12 overs.

Since he also scored an unbeaten century in the group-stage match against Namibia, it marked his fourth fifty-plus score and thus helped him break into an elusive list of batters with most fifty-plus scores in a single edition of a men's T20 World Cup, featuring Australia's Matthew Hayden, India's Kohli and compatriot Babar.

Kohli, Babar and Hayden all registered four fifty-plus scores in a single edition of the tournament, with the former achieving the milestone twice.