Virat Kohli notched up 52 off 41 deliveries before falling prey to Roston Chase in the 14th over of the innings. He may have not scored an international century for over two years but Virat Kohli doesn’t miss out on entering elusive batting lists.
The former Indian skipper had previously registered scores of 8, 18, 0, and 17 in the ongoing home assignment against the West Indies.
The numbers don’t reflect the mercurial player’s batting prowess but Virat Kohli on Friday added another feather to his already illustrious hat after scoring a half-century in the second T20I at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Virat Kohli Equaled Rohit Sharma’s Tally Of Most 50s In T20Is
With a six over long-on off Roston Chase, Virat Kohli reached his 30th half-century in the shortest format of the game. He has now equalled Rohit Sharma’s tally of most fifty-plus scores in T20I cricket. Virat Kohli achieved the landmark in 89 innings, which is 24 innings faster than Rohit Sharma.
Babar Azam is third on the list with 26 fifty-plus scores, followed by Martin Guptill (22) and David Warner (22).
Virat Kohli Is 4 Runs Short Of Martin Guptill’s Most T20I Runs
Virat Kohli was also in the sight of another record that Martin Guptill holds. The former India skipper was just four runs short of becoming the leading run-scorer in the format before perishing for 52. Martin Guptill heads the list with 3299 runs to his name. Rohit Sharma is third in the panel, having scored 3256 runs in T20 Internationals.
Earlier, West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and elected to bowl as the tourists look to level the series. Kieron Pollard also achieved the feat of playing 100 T20 International.
“We will try to bowl first and limit them to a low total,” Pollard, whose side trail the three-match series 1-0, said at the toss.
India, on the other hand, stuck with the same team that won the previous match by six wickets.
“It’s a lightning outfield, we need to play our shots and then see what we need to do after the powerplay. There is always room for improvement, and we want to raise our game to the next level,” said skipper Rohit.
Virat Kohli has 3296 runs to his name while Rohit Sharma is not far behind with 3256 runs. However, the top spot belongs to New Zealand’s Martin Guptill with 3299 runs. All 3 of them are still active players so it remains to be seen who finishes at the top.
Virat Kohli has been given a break for the last 3rd inconsequential T20I against West Indies and most likely the Sri Lanka T20Is too, so he has to wait for a while to break Martin Guptill’s most T20I runs.
Virat Kohli had ended the West Indies ODI series scoring just 26 runs which includes scores of 8 off 4 and 18 off 30 respectively in the first two games.
It is the second-lowest he has ever scored in a three-match bilateral ODI series and the first since the home series against Pakistan in 2012/13, where he had managed only 13 runs in three innings averaging 4.33.