NEW DELHI: Babar Azam etched his name in the record books with a splendid knock of 74 in the fourth match of the T20I Tri-Series against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi on Sunday. With this innings, the former Pakistan captain equalled Virat Kohli's record for the most fifties in the shortest format of the game.

With Kohli having retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup last year, Babar now looks poised to overtake his mark of 38 half-centuries in the format. Babar required 127 innings to reach 38 half-centuries, while Kohli achieved the milestone in 117 innings.

Most fifties in T20I cricket

38 - Babar Azam (3 hundreds)
38 - Virat Kohli (1 hundred)
32 - Rohit Sharma (5 hundreds)
30 - Mohammad Rizwan (1 hundred)
28 - Jos Buttler (1 hundred)
28 - David Warner (1 hundred)

Pakistan enter final

Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by 69 runs in Rawalpindi in the ongoing tri-series, despite a fighting unbeaten 67 from Ryan Burl. The victory dented Zimbabwe’s net run rate and ensured that Sri Lanka remain in contention for a place in the final.

Having won their first three matches, Pakistan have already sealed their spot in the title clash.

Pakistan piled up 195 runs thanks to impressive knocks from Babar Azam (74) and Sahibzada Farhan (63). In the second innings, Usman Tariq's hat-trick broke Zimbabwe's resistance and effectively sealed the result.

Chasing 196, Zimbabwe were dismissed for 126. Their top order needed a steady start, but early aggression backfired as wickets fell in quick succession. Tadiwanashe Marumani chipped a straightforward catch to cover off Naseem Shah, while Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor followed soon after, leaving the chase in disarray.