The Indian stand-in skipper, Rohit Sharma entered the records books after scoring his 16th half-century in Twenty20 Internationals. He blasted 50 off 29 balls to help script India’s seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second T20I at Eden Park in Auckland. With that win, Indian has leveled the three-match series 1-1 and the series decider is scheduled to be played at the Seddon Park In Hamilton.
Rohit became the leading run-scorer in T20Is surpassing New Zealand’s Martin Guptill during his match-winning knock, which was studded with four sixes and three fours in India’s successful chase of 159. In the process, he also became the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in T20Is and he now also holds the record for most 50-plus scores in T20Is.
Sharma also emulated regular skipper Virat Kohli’s tally of 12 victories while captaining Team India. He has 12 wins from just 14 matches while Virat Kohli has 12 wins under his belt in 20 matches.
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On the other hand, Kohli, who had been rested from the ongoing series, has the highest batting average among batsmen in T20Is. Kohli averages 49.25 in T20Is.
When asked about comparing Kohli and Rohit while talking to India Today, Harbhajan Singh said, “That’s a tricky question. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are tremendous players and both are match-winners. Both are class players and their records speak for themselves. Rohit Sharma is supremely talented while Virat Kohli is a hard-working cricketer. Maybe, Kohli is not as talented at Rohit but his hard work and passion have taken him to where he is right now. So, it’s tough for me to pick who’s a better batsman. I will not be able to answer this question. But both play for India, that’s what matters.”
Rohit has scored 4 T20I centuries, which is the most by any batsman in world cricket in the shortest format of cricket. He is also leading the list of most T20I fifties with already 20 under his belt and the next on the list is Kohli with 19 half-centuries to his name. While Rohit reached there in 84 innings, Kohli has those many fifties in just 60 innings.
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Harbhajan further added, “Rohit has scored so many hundreds in T20Is because he opens the innings and he gets to play that many deliveries. Virat Kohli sometimes has to play slow at the start of his innings after India lose early wickets. And, when he gets a set platform, 15-16 overs are already over. So we should not look at the stats but look at how much these two players have contributed playing for India.”
