Sahibzada Farhan closing in on Virat Kohli’s T20 World Cup runs record as Super 8 tightens
sahibzada farhan has amassed 283 runs in five innings at the T20 World Cup 2026 and sits 37 runs short of breaking Virat Kohli’s single-edition record of 319. His form arrives at a critical moment: the Super 8 stage is entering its decisive phase with more than 80% of matches completed and less than two weeks remaining in the tournament.
Sahibzada Farhan: the numbers behind the run chase
Across five completed innings Farhan has produced an average of 70. 75 and a strike rate of 158. 10, compiling one century and two half-centuries. His personal best of 100 not out came against Namibia; other significant knocks include 73 against the United States and 63 versus England. He opened the campaign with a 47 against the Netherlands and registered a duck against India. A scheduled appearance in the Super Eight opener against New Zealand did not materialize because that match was abandoned after the toss, costing him an additional batting opportunity.
With the benchmark set by Virat Kohli at 319 runs in a single T20 World Cup edition, Farhan needs a further 37 runs to overtake that total. Kohli’s 2014 performance accumulated 319 runs in six innings with four fifties and a highest score of 77; he finished that tournament with an average of 106. 33 and a strike rate of 129. 14. What makes this notable is that Farhan has reached his current total in one fewer completed innings than Kohli did, and at a substantially higher strike rate so far.
Pakistan’s Super Eight fate tied to New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka results
The timing of Farhan’s chase is shaped directly by the Super 8 schedule and specific match outcomes. Pakistan’s next fixture is against Sri Lanka on February 28, and the result will have immediate consequences for their semifinal prospects. If New Zealand defeat England on February 27, Pakistan would be eliminated from semifinal contention. Conversely, if England beat New Zealand and Pakistan secure victory over Sri Lanka, semifinal qualification would come down to net run rate, with the team holding the superior NRR joining England in the final four.
Those permutations create a narrow window for Farhan to add the required runs: he has at least one guaranteed chance in the Sri Lanka game, and could have up to three opportunities to bat further if Pakistan advance to the semifinals and possibly the final. Each match outcome therefore has a direct effect on both his individual record pursuit and Pakistan’s tournament trajectory.
Match-by-match impact of Farhan’s contributions
Farhan’s sequence of scores has been a major factor in Pakistan’s Super 8 campaign. His century against Namibia and the 73 and 63 that followed supplied substantial batting momentum; the abandoned New Zealand fixture, however, removed a potential scoring opportunity and altered the arithmetic of his chase. The duck versus India is the only complete failure in the set of innings, but his high average and strike rate demonstrate sustained impact across the games he has played.
At 29 years old, Farhan’s proximity to a 12-year-old tournament record places an added spotlight on the upcoming fixtures. If he reaches the 37-run target in the Sri Lanka match, the record would fall before the tournament concludes; if not, further opportunities will depend entirely on Pakistan’s ability to progress through the remaining rounds. The Super 8 calendar and the outcomes on February 27 and February 28 will therefore determine both the team’s path and whether Farhan can rewrite a long-standing mark in T20 World Cup history.
