Before Rohit, Babar, and Kohli! Paul Stirling of Ireland becomes the first player in T20Is to accomplish a unique achievement
In the first match of the three-match series in Sharjah, Ireland’s white-ball captain Paul Stirling accomplished a unique achievement in Twenty20 Internationals by defeating Afghanistan despite a mediocre total of 149 runs. Stirling became the first male cricketer to hit 400 fours in the format of international cricket. He is now the fifth-leading run scorer in men’s T20Is. Stirling hit two fours and a six during his 25-run inning on Friday, March 15, pushing him above the 400-mark.
Overall, Stirling is the first player in men’s T20Is to reach the milestone, with former Pakistan captain Babar Azam coming in second with 395 boundaries. Meg Lanning and Suzie Bates are the other two cricketers who have reached this milestone. Babar is in third place with 361 fours, followed by former India captain Virat Kohli and current captain Rohit Sharma, who both have 359 boundaries in the shortest format.
Most fours in Twenty20 Internationals
Paul Stirling: (135 matches) – 401
Babar Azam: 395, out of 109 games
331, Virat Kohli (117 matches)
Rohit Sharma: 359 out of 151 games
David Warner: 320 (out of 103 games)
With two matches remaining in the series and a T20 World Cup in June, Stirling has a great chance to get a significant lead over Babar. Babar may overtake the Irish captain since Pakistan will play two T20I series in April and May before the main event.
Regarding the game, on that sluggish Sharjah surface, Harry Tector’s undefeated 56 off 34 helped Ireland to a respectable score of 149 runs. Nonetheless, the Afghans would have been optimistic about their prospects of chasing that score given their batting lineup and familiarity with the pitch. But that was not to be.
Afghanistan was never able to settle down,, thanks to four wickets from Ben White and three from Josh Little. The Irish bowlers continued to take wickets at regular intervals and finally won the match by 38 runs to take a 1-0 lead.
