Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan shatters Virat Kohli's record of most runs in single edition of T20 World Cup

In a standout performance duringmust-win T20 World Cup Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan etched his name into the record books by surpassing a 12-year-old T20 World Cup milestone. Tasked with leading the charge in Pallekele after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl, Farhan successfully overtook Virat Kohli’s long-standing record for the most runs scored in a single edition of the tournament.

Sahibzada Farhan breaks Virat Kohli's mighty record

The historic moment occurred as soon as the right-handed opener crossed the 38-run mark during his innings. By doing so, he eclipsed the tally Kohli had established during the 2014 World Cup, a benchmark that had remained untouched for over a decade despite numerous challenges from the world’s elite batters.

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This achievement further highlights the dominance of Asian players in the tournament’s history, as five of the top run-scorers in a single edition now hail from the continent. While Babar Azam came remarkably close to the record in 2022 with a 303-run campaign, it was ultimately Farhan who managed to bridge the gap and claim the top spot on the all-time list.

Most runs in an edition of T20 World Cup:

323 - Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan (2026)*
319 - Virat Kohli, India (2014)
317 - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka (2009)
303 - Babar Azam, Pakistan (2021)
302 - Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka (2010)
296 - Virat Kohli, India (2022)
295 - Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh (2016)
289 - David Warner, Australia (2021)
281 - Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan (2021)
281 - Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Afghanistan (2024)

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Farhan didn't stop there as he ended up cracking a solid 60-ball century to help Pakistan post a big total of 212/8. Pakistan then needed a 65-run win to overtake New Zealand on Net Run Rate (NRR) and move into second place in Group Two. In order to do so they had to restrict Sri Lanka to the necessary target of 147 runs or fewer. Sri Lanka responded strongly to finish on 207/6, losing the match by only five runs. This result confirmed New Zealand's qualification based on their superior NRR, alongside Group Two leaders England.