Indore
India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.
Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain. Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland’s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list. During India’s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings. Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.
India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.
All-round India ticked all the boxes on Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan’s return to international cricket and swept Sri Lanka aside by seven wickets to take 1-0 lead in the second T20 international at the Holkar Stadium here on Tuesday.
The first match in Guwahati was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain and damp pitch. Virat Kohli and his boys will now look to seal the series in the final match of the series in Pune on Friday.
Chasing a reasonable 143 for victory, Kohli (30 not out) smashed a six in the 18th over to seal the deal for the rampaging hosts with 15 balls to spare.
KL Rahul scored 45, Shreyas Iyer got 34 and the returning Shikhar Dhawan made 32 as India never really looked in any sort of trouble after their bowlers fired in unison to keep the Lankans in check.
The two openers, vying for the second opener’s slot along with Rohit Sharma for the World T20 later this year, got India off to a solid start. Rahul looked good, hitting six fours before his ambition got the better of him as leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga cleaned him up with a delivery wide of the crease in the 10th over.
