Rohit Sharma’s T20I record was equaled by Kohli

Virat Kohli equaled India skipper Rohit Sharma’s T20I record with his 30th fifty in the shortest format on Friday during the second T20I between India and the West Indies in Kolkata. Kohli’s 30th half-century in T20Is moved him level with skipper Rohit Sharma.

Notably, Kohli is the only hitter in Twenty20 history to have scored over 10,000 runs. The Royal Challengers Bangalore hitter is sixth all-time in T20I run scoring, trailing only Chris Gayle (14,529), Shoaib Malik (11611), Kieron Pollard (11419), Aaron Finch (10434), and David Warner (10308).

Before Friday, Kohli has 29 fifties in 96 games. However, he has yet to make a century in international cricket’s shortest format. In T20I cricket, he averages a staggering 51. Virat Kohli finally put an end to the speculation over his mediocre form by scoring a 41-ball 52 in the second T20I against the West Indies.

The former captain has been seeking to play an aggressive position at No. 3 for India in T20Is, rather than the accumulator role he was playing till the T20 World Cup last year. The strategy did not work in the first T20I, as he was dismissed for 17 while attempting to knock left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein over long-off. After a disappointing ODI series in which he scored only 26 runs, doubts were raised about Virat Kohli’s form, but he has been demonstrating a desire to get off to a fast start.

Kohli is also the leading run-scorer in the IPL, having scored 6283 runs in the premier T20 league. Kohli has now reached the 500-run mark. After the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, Kohli stood down as India’s T20I captain, stating that he wanted to focus on the captaincy in ODIs and Tests, but he was ousted as captain in the 50-over format.

Kohli unexpectedly resigned as Test captain earlier this year after India lost a Test series 2-1 in South Africa. However, with the T20 World Cup coming up later this year, Kohli will be a key component of the squad, supported by captain Rohit and the team management.