Indian skipper Rohit Sharma became the first male cricketer in history to play 150 T20I matches as he walked out for the toss in the second game of the three-match series against Afghanistan in Indore on Sunday, January 14. Rohit, who has been playing the shortest format since 2007 is the first cricketer to feature in 150 men's T20Is and overall fifth with four women players having achieved the milestone already. Rohit won the toss in his milestone match and invited Afghanistan to bat first.
Rohit hadn't played a T20I since the T20 World Cup 2022 and it looked like the team had moved on from the seniors only to see both him and Virat Kohli return for the three-match T20 series. Rohit had featured in 148 matches before the series and reached the 150 mark on Sunday. Before Rohit, in women's cricket Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur (161), Suzie Bates (152), Danni Wyatt (151) and Alyssa Healy (150) have played 150-plus matches.
Most matches played in T20Is
161 - Harmanpreet Kaur (India, 2009-2024)
152 - Suzie Bates (New Zealand, 2007-2023)
151 - Danni Wyatt (England, 2010-2023)
150 - Alyssa Healy (Australia, 2010-2024)
150 - Rohit Sharma (India, 2007-2024)*
Most matches played in T20Is (men)
150 - Rohit Sharma (India, 2007-2024)*
134 - Paul Stirling (Ireland, 2009-2023)
128 - George Dockrell (Ireland, 2010-2023)
124 - Shoaib Malik (Pakistan, 2006-2021)
122 - Martin Guptill (New Zealand, 2009-2022)
As far as the match is concerned, skipper Rohit Sharma suggested that he chose to bowl first keeping in mind the small boundaries in Indore and the decision came to be good as the Men in Blue had half of the Afghanistan side back in the hut in just 15 overs despite a quickfire half-century by Gulbadin Naib.
India's playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
