How Mohammed Rizwan overshadowed Virat in Kohl’s T20 cricket in 2021

The year 2021 was crucial in cricket in many ways.

It showed us that New Zealand is the best team in all its forms and in all conditions after winning the World Championship and reaching the T20 World Cup final. Australia once again showed why they are always in danger at the ICC races and won the T20 title in Dubai – the only white ball trophy missing from their closet.

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We also saw India fail in the second multinational tournament, as a result of which Virat Kohli said goodbye as a 20-year-old captain. And finally, Pakistan showed that when it comes to going hard – as happened after New Zealand and then England withdrew to Pakistan just before the T20 World Cup – the green men are taking their game to a new level.

A major driving force in Pakistan’s brilliant run at the T20 showpiece was captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper striker Mohammed Rizwa at the forefront of the order.

Their consistent runs on very challenging surfaces in the UAE allowed Pakistan’s knife-sharp bowling attack to dictate conditions. This was even the case in the semi-finals against Australia until the fallen catch and then three exceptionally bold Matthew Wade hits prevented them from winning.

Slowly but surely Babar and Rizwan have encountered and then healed T20 cricket king Kohl. The Indian giant has not lost its shape, but it has not been as explosive either. Rizwan especially enjoyed the sensational year of 2021 in T20 cricket, making more than 1,000 runs and becoming one of the best batsmen in the form.

Rizwan made nearly 48 runs in 23 innings this year, while topping the running points table. Babar is behind him with almost 37 runs per shift in 23 innings. Kohli made 299 runs out of eight pairings, which is as good as Babar’s numbers. Meanwhile, India’s new T20 captain Rohit Sharma made 424 runs out of 11 laps in 2021, which is about 38 per shift.

So how good has Rizwan been? Below are three graphics that show how much.

Pakistan captain Babar has regained his number one spot in T20 cricket. Rizwan has taken great strides, reaching his career-high ranking during the World Cup. With more T20 matches when the next World Cup is less than a year away, expect more from a Pakistani glove man.

Going purely by numbers, Rizwan will be the best runner in T20 cricket in 2021 with 1,123 runs and Babar behind him with 853 runs. While very few have played as many games as they did – 26 songs – these two are still well ahead of the pack.

Updated: Nov 24, 2021 at 6:06 p.m.