Kishan Overtakes Virat Kohli With a Match-Saving 80
India were wobbling at 87 for 4 in the Asian Games semifinal against Sri Lanka at Aichi-Nagoya when Ishan Kishan walked out to bat. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson had both fallen for single-digit scores, and only Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s quick 38 off 21 balls had kept India afloat.
Kishan took over. His unbeaten 80 off 46 balls, with four fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 173.91, dragged India to 169 for 7. It was also his eighth fifty-plus score of 2026, which moves him past Virat Kohli’s seven from 2016.
India’s Bowlers Finish the Job
Sri Lanka collapsed in reply. Nuwanidu Fernando’s 15 was the highest score in the innings, and no other batter reached double figures. Jasprit Bumrah took 2 for 7, Axar Patel 2 for 8 and Abhishek Sharma 2 for 2, while Washington Sundar added 1 for 18. Three run-outs completed the rout.
Kishan’s 2026 Numbers vs Suryakumar Yadav’s 2022 Benchmark
Kishan has 985 runs from 28 T20Is this year at an average of 37.88 and a strike rate of 171.3, including one century and seven fifties.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 2022 sets the Indian standard:
- 1,164 runs in 31 T20Is at an average of 46.56
- Two centuries and nine fifties, the most fifty-plus scores by an Indian in a T20I calendar year
Kishan is one fifty-plus score short of equalling that count of nine.
Where Kishan Stands in the Global Calendar-Year Records
Two marks sit above the Indian record:
- Mohammed Rizwan (Pakistan, 2021): 1,326 runs in 29 matches, the best among Test-playing nations
- Karanbir Singh (Austria, 2025): 1,488 runs in 32 matches, the overall record
Kishan needs 179 more runs to pass Suryakumar, and considerably more to threaten Rizwan or Karanbir.
