Sahibzada Farhan broke Virat Kohli’s 12-year-old record for most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition
The Pakistan opener crossed the milestone during a must-win Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka
Farhan became the first batter to score 320+ runs in one T20 World Cup campaign
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan etched his name into T20 World Cup history after surpassing a long-standing record previously held by Virat Kohli during Pakistan’s crucial Super 8 clash against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Saturday.
Walking in under immense pressure in a must-win encounter, Farhan continued his remarkable tournament run and crossed the landmark early in his innings after Sri Lanka opted to bowl first.
The right-hander went past Kohli’s tally for the most runs scored in a single edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, ending a record that had stood untouched since the 2014 tournament. Kohli had accumulated 319 runs during India’s run to the final that year, a benchmark widely regarded as one of the greatest batting performances in T20 World Cup history before Farhan finally overtook it in 2026.
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Sahibzada Farhan breaks Virat Kohli’s long-standing T20 World Cup record
Farhan entered the match already among the leading run-scorers of the tournament and needed only a modest contribution to rewrite the record books. The milestone arrived when he crossed the 38-run mark in the innings, taking his aggregate beyond Kohli’s 12-year-old tally.
With this effort, Farhan became the first batter in T20 World Cup history to breach the 320-run mark in a single edition, underlining his consistency across group and Super 8 stages.
What makes the achievement more significant is the context in which it came. Pakistan’s campaign has been filled with pressure games, and Farhan has delivered repeatedly at the top of the order, combining aggressive stroke play with calculated shot selection.
Asian batters dominate all-time T20 World Cup run charts
Farhan’s record-breaking effort also highlights the dominance of Asian batters in T20 World Cup history. Five of the top performers for most runs in a single edition now belong to Asian teams, showcasing the region’s continued influence in the shortest format of the game. Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene remain part of the elite list alongside Kohli and Pakistan’s Babar Azam.
Most runs in a T20 WC edition
323* - Sahibzada Farhan in 2026*
319 - Virat Kohli in 2014
317 - T Dilshan in 2009
303 - Babar Azam in 2021
302 - M Jayawardene in 2010
Babar had previously come closest to challenging Kohli’s record when he scored 303 runs during the 2021 edition but fell short of the historic mark. Farhan’s 2026 campaign, however, has finally pushed the benchmark higher, setting a new standard for future T20 World Cup editions
