Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma shatter records in Mumbai T20I
On Wednesday, Team India showed the world why they are considered to be one of the most powerful batting units in cricket. Riding on KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's blistering knocks, the Men in Blue thrashed Kieron Pollard's West Indies by 67 runs in the series decider at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In a lop-sided contest, Pollard won the toss and opted to bowl as India didn't have a great record while batting first in T20Is but table turned at Wankhede as it was raining sixes and four by Indian batters.
India posted a mammoth total of 240/3 riding on the back of brilliant knocks from Rohit (71), Rahul (91) and Kohli (70*). In reply, West Indies could manage 173/8 in their allotted quota of 20 overs and lost the three-match series 1-2. The Men in Blue's dominating run in the bilateral series-deciders continued with the Mumbai win -- India now have been victorious in 9 out of 10 deciders in a T20I series.
The batting masterclass that lit up the Wankhede also led to some new milestones and records in T20I cricket. Some of the records that were shattered during the final T20I between India and West Indies match are below:
2633: The Mumbai T20I gave perfect justice to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma race for the highest run-getters in T20I cricket. Skipper Kohli and his deputy ended the 2019 year as the joint-top run-getters in the shortest format of the game. Both the batsmen have scored 2633 runs in T20Is so far. While Rohit scored 71 in the final T20I game of the year against West Indies, Kohli scored an unbeaten 70. Before the match, Kohli was just one run ahead of Rohit in the tally.
21-ball 50: Kohli and records go hand-in-hand and he didn't change the script in the third T20I as he played one of his most prolific innings against West Indies in the series decider. Kohli slammed 70* off just 29 balls and he completed his 50 in just 21 balls which is fastest by an Indian captain.
400 SIXES: India opener Rohit Sharma became the first Indian player to breach the 400-sixes mark in international cricket during his majestic knock of 71 runs, in which he slammed 5 sixes. Before the series, Rohit was just one short achieve the massive but he failed in the first two T20Is but at his home ground at Wankhede, he didn't miss the opportunity to register his name in the record books.
1000 Runs at home turf: Virat Kohli also became the only third batsman to score 1000 T20I runs in his home country. New Zealand's Martin Guptill and Colin Munro had previously achieved the feat. He needed only six runs to achieve a massive feat.
