India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan entered an exclusive club on Saturday, becoming only the second Indian to score 1,000 or more runs in T20 internationals in a calendar year.
Kishan reached the landmark during India’s Asian Games gold medal clash against Pakistan. He made 20 off 18 balls, including three fours, taking his 2026 tally to 1,005 runs at an average of 37.22 and a strike rate of 169.47. His tally includes a century and seven fifties.
Suryakumar Yadav was the first Indian to achieve the feat, scoring 1,164 runs in 31 T20Is in 2022. His tally included two centuries and nine half-centuries, with a strike rate of more than 187.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan holds the calendar-year record among batters from Test-playing nations, having scored 1,326 runs in 2021. Austria’s Karanbir Singh holds the overall T20I record, with 1,488 runs in 2025.
Kishan’s milestone came during an imposing Indian batting effort in the Asian Games final. After choosing to bat, India reached 211/6, with Abhishek Sharma smashing 61 off 28 balls, including seven sixes.
Tilak Varma provided the late fireworks with an unbeaten 51 off 22 deliveries, while Shivam Dube contributed 27 off 15 balls. The duo added 62 runs for the sixth wicket to propel India beyond the 200-run mark.
