Indian skipper Virat Kohli, the chase master, quickly chased down India’s highest T20I target in Hyderabad. Kohli scored unbeaten 94 runs in 50 balls including 6 sixes and 6 fours and led the team to victory in the first T20I match against West Indies. With his aggressive and praiseworthy performance, Virat Kohli earned the 12th Man of the Match award and equalled the record with Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi.
The Afghanistan batsman was already leading the list of most number of Man of the Matches in T20I with 12 awards. Now, Virat Kohli also holds the record along with Nabi.
Most Man of the Match awards in T20Is
Virat Kohli-12
Mohammad Nabi-12
Shahid Afridi-11
India Chased 208 runs
The visitors gave a prolific performance with the bat, setting the target of 208 runs which India never chased before. The opener KL Rahul played shots with confidence and gave a promising performance. He completed 1000 runs in T20I career and scored 62 runs in 40 balls. His opening partner Rohit Sharma lost his wicket early after scoring just eight runs. However, Virat Kohli stood for the team till the end.
Indian skipper, in the starting of innings, tried to hit hard but was not getting boundaries. But eventually, he got into track and started hitting boundaries. He scored 23rd half-century, the most by any batsman in T20I. He continued his stunt and led the team to chase the target though the other cricketers were losing the wickets. West Indies bowlers had no answer to his batting.
It was the highest T20 total chase by India, going past the 207-target chase versus Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2009. With this, India has got the lead with 1-0 in the three-match T20I series against West Indies. The two teams will head to play the second T20I match in Thiruvanthapuram.