Hardik Pandya entered his name in the history books on Friday (December 19) by becoming the first Indian cricketer to score 2000 runs and take 100 wickets as well in T20Is. The 32-year-old cricketer from
Baroda needed 61 runs in the fifth T20I to join the 2000-run club, and he achieved the objective during the 19th over of India’s innings.
Pandya is overall fifth Indian to score 2000 runs in T20Is.
The record of scoring the most runs for India in T20Is is in the name of former captain Rohit Sharma. Rohit played 159 T20Is from September 2007 to June 2024 and amassed a total of 4231 runs. Rohit is followed by Virat Kohli, who also finished his T20I career in June 2024. Kohli played 125 T20Is for India and scored 4188 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul are two other Indians to score more than 2000 runs in T20Is.
Most runs in T20Is for India
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | 100/50 | 4/6s |
| Rohit Sharma | 159 | 4231 | 121* | 32.05 | 140.39 | 5/32 | 383/205 |
| Virat Kohli | 125 | 4188 | 122* | 48.69 | 137.04 | 1/38 | 369/124 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 99 | 2788 | 117 | 35.29 | 163.23 | 4/21 | 251/155 |
| KL Rahul | 72 | 2265 | 110* | 37.75 | 139.12 | 2/22 | 191/99 |
| Hardik Pandya | 124 | 2002 | 71* | 28.60 | 143.51 | 0/7 | 151/106 |
Pandya faced 25 balls for India in the fifth T20I and, with the help of 5 fours and 5 sixes, scored 63 runs. He added 105 runs for the fourth wicket with Tilak Varma, who made 73 runs from 42 balls.
Before joining the 2000-run club in T20Is for India, Pandya completed his half-century in just 16 balls. He now holds the record for scoring the second-fastest half-century for India in T20Is.
Fastest 50s for India in T20Is
| PLAYER | BALLS | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Yuvraj Singh | 12 | England | Durban | September 19, 2007 |
| Hardik Pandya | 16 | South Africa | Ahmedabad | December 19, 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 17 | England | Mumbai (WS) | February 2, 2025 |
| KL Rahul | 18 | Scotland | Dubai | November 5, 2021 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 18 | South Africa | Guwahati | October 2, 2022 |
During his 63-run knock, Pandya also leapfrogged Suresh Raina to become the fifth-highest run scorer in T20Is for India against South Africa. In 20 T20Is against the 2024 T20 World Cup losing finalists, Pandya has scored 373 runs in 15 innings.
The overall record of scoring the most runs for India in the 20-over format of the game against the Proteas is in the name of Tilak Varma. Tilak, who made 73 runs on Friday, overall has 496 runs to his credit in 10 T20Is against South Africa.
