Indian skipper Rohit Sharma achieved another milestone in limited-overs cricket on Thursday, as he became the leading run-getter in the T20I format. He overtook Martin Guptill and Virat Kohli who have 3299 and 3296 runs in T20 internationals, respectively. Ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka at Lucknow, Rohit needed 37 runs to achieve the feat.
After India was given the opportunity to bat first, Rohit and Ishan Kishan formed a solid opening partnership of 111 runs. Rohit looked a bit sluggish at first, but came to his own as the innings progressed. Indian skipper was eventually dismissed by Lahiru Kumara at the score of 44. Rohit was outfoxed by the change of pace displayed by the Sri Lankan pacer.
Rohit now has 3307 runs at an average of 33 in 123 T20I appearances. He has 4 centuries to his name, the most for a player in the shortest format.
Most T20I runs through innings where SR was 150+
1717: Rohit Sharma
1584: Martin Guptill
1387: Eoin Morgan
1379: Aaron Finch
1364: Glenn Maxwell
1361: Virat Kohli
1314: David Warner
1310: Jos Buttler#INDvSL #RohitSharma— ComeOn Cricket 🏏🇮🇳 (@ComeOnCricket) February 24, 2022
Another feather in the cap for 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐍! 🪶
RO is now the 🔝 scorer in Men's T20Is 🇮🇳🙌#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDvSL @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/F2K8Mxn3Bv
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 24, 2022
Meanwhile India made wholesale changes in their starting XI. Sanju Samson made his India comeback. He last played international cricket in July 2021 against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma had recently stated in a press conference that Samson’s strokeplay can be useful for Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australian conditions. “That guy has got talent, man. Whenever I have seen him bat in IPL and all of that, he has just produced an innings where everyone goes over the moon watching it.”, Rohit said.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja also made a return to the Indian XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad unfortunately missed out due to pain in his right wrist.
“Nothing changes as far as the goals of the team are concerned, need to do the right things as a team, need to keep ticking all the right boxes.”, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said at the toss.
