On September 15, 2026, during England’s first Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka at Southampton, Jos Buttler took second place on the all-time men’s T20I run-scoring chart. In just 29 deliveries, the England wicketkeeper-batter reached his half-century, striking eight fours and three sixes and scoring 80 off 44 balls. Rohit Sharma’s last T20I total of 4,231 runs was surpassed by the knock, which increased his career total to 4,292 runs from 161 games.
Rohit’s aggregate was the second-highest in men’s T20I history before he retired from the game. Only Babar Azam, who leads the all-time list with 4,596 runs from 145 games, is currently ahead of Buttler. Buttler has amassed two hundreds and 29 fifties at an average of 34.33 during his T20I career.
Harry Brook, who finished undefeated on 114 off 49 balls and was voted Player of the Match, formed a 128-run second-wicket partnership with Buttler. After 20 overs, England scored 254/4. England won by 119 runs after bowling Sri Lanka out for 135 in 19 overs in response, extending their winning streak over Sri Lanka in Twenty20 Internationals to 13 straight games. The outcome gave England the lead in the three-match series.
After Sri Lanka started their chase of 255, England’s bowlers were similarly dominant. With figures of 3/12 from four overs, Sonny Baker was the star of the assault. Within 19 overs, Sri Lanka’s batting order collapsed, with Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson each taking two wickets. The 119-run difference demonstrated England’s total dominance in both innings that day.
After this significant achievement, where does Buttler stand in T20I history?
Buttler is solidly in second place on the men’s T20I all-time run-scoring table with 4,292 runs. Throughout his 161 England matches, he consistently produced two hundreds and 29 fifties at an average of 34.33. With 4,596 runs from 145 games, Babar Azam is still the only batter ahead of him.
Buttler and Brook’s 128-run partnership in this game solidified their status as one of England’s most productive batting partnerships in the format. They had earlier partnered for 233 runs against India.
