Alex Hales continued to march towards breaking Chris Gayle‘s all-time T20 record as he left the likes of Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik behind to become the second-highest run-getter in the shortest format. Hales needed just two runs to go past Malik and 47 to leapfrog Pollard and he surpassed both of them during his 32-ball 67 for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 qualifier against the Dubai Capitals, however, couldn’t get his team across the line as Sam Billings and Co made the final for the second consecutive season in a row.
Hales now stands just behind Gayle on the T20 leading run-getters list with 13,558 runs in the format having been a T20 globetrotter for a number of years and consistently scoring runs wherever he has played, whether it was for England, in the Big Bash League for Sydney Thunder, the CPL, the IPL and in England’s local competitions T20 Blast and the Hundred. Hales is still 1,004 runs away from surpassing Gayle, however, with the way he is going, it won’t be that far.
Most runs in T20 cricket
Chris Gayle (2005-2022) – 14,562 (in 455 innings)
Alex Hales (2009-2025) – 13,558 (in 488 innings)*
Kieron Pollard (2006-2025) – 13,537 (in 617 innings)
Shoaib Malik (2005-2024) – 13,492 (in 510 innings)
David Warner (2007-2025) – 12,909 (in 397 innings)
Virat Kohli (2007-2024) – 12,886 (in 382 innings)
Hales, combined with cameos from Max Holden and Dan Lawrence guided the Vipers to a very good total of 189 runs batting first in a playoff match, however, the Capitals knew what they had to do and came out all guns blazing. Gulbadin Naib, the Afghan all-rounder was the star of the show with a 39-ball 62 but there were important contributions around him with Adam Rossington playing a quickfire 44 off just 31 deliveries while skipper Sam Billings made a 16-ball 38.
Still, the Capitals needed to knock off 21 in the final two overs and Dasun Shanaka and Sikandar Raza provided finishing touches to take their side to the final. The Vipers will take on the winner of the eliminator between MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriorz.
