All eyes on Thiruvananthapuram as many records awaits Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has smashed an unbeaten 94, his highest T20I score, to help India to a thumping six-wicket win against West Indies in Hyderabad on Friday. With the innings, Kohli has now scored 975 runs in the shortest format at home. If he manages to score 25 runs more, he would become the first Indian cricketer to complete 1000 runs in T20Is at home.
The Indian skipper would become only the third player in history to do so, only after New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (1430) and Colin Munro (1000).
If Kohli manages to score three more runs in the 2nd T20I against West Indies on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram , he will topple Rohit to reclaim the top spot and become the leading run-scorer in the shortest format. He is currently just three runs away from Rohit Sharma’s mark, who holds the top spot at the moment with 2,547 runs.
Kohli’s highest T20 score anchored India’s chase of the 208-run target with eight balls to spare. The skipper hit six fours and another six sixes as his 35-ball half-century led India to 209-4 in 18.4 overs in the first T20I.
It was the highest T20 total chased down by India, going past the 207 versus Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2009. “I didn’t want to put pressure on Rahul but I couldn’t get going properly,” Kohli said. “I don’t have to change much (in my batting) across formats. I just concentrate on doing the job instead of hitting (the ball) in the air. I played according to the situation in the second half (of my innings).”
It was the 23rd time he made fifty-plus in T20 cricket, the most by any batsman. The West Indies scored 207-5 after it was sent in to bat. Shimron Hetmyer (56) scored his maiden T20I half-century.
