Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli break top 2 Chris Gayle international records in same T20I match

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened the innings for India in the series-deciding fifth T20I against England on Saturday, March 20. The duo put on 94 runs for the first wicket to catapult the ‘Men in Blue’ to a massive 224-2 from their 20 overs. Both Sharma and Kohli slammed their respective match-winning half-centuries as India claimed the five-match T20I series by a 3-2 margin against the visitors.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli celebrate series-clinching win, watch video

India vs England: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma go past Chris Gayle in elite T20I records

Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 80 from just 52 balls to top-score in India’s 224-2. In doing so, the Indian captain notched up his 28th T20I half-century and his seventh score of 80 or more in the format. The cricketer went past West Indies batting connoisseur Chris Gayle in terms of most 80 or 80-plus scores in T20Is. As of now, Gayle is tied alongside Martin Guptill with six T20I scores of 80 or more while Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma leads the pack with nine of such scores.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma smacked five sixes during his 34-ball 64-run blitzkrieg in the same match. In doing so, he marked the 10th occasion of his career where he struck five or more sixes in a single T20I innings. Sharma went past Chris Gayle as well as New Zealand’s Colin Munro, as both of them have achieved the same on nine occasions.

India vs England 2021 updates

England’s tour of India will now continue with a three-match ODI series. The matches will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The first match is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, March 23 and the action is slated to commence from 1:30 PM IST onwards.

Virat Kohli and co. arrive in Pune for ODIs, watch video

Virat Kohli stats in international cricket

The Virat Kohli stats in international cricket composes of some staggering numbers. Ever since he made his debut back in 2008, the right-hander has aggregated 22,689 runs across all formats. The Indian captain is currently the only cricketer in the world to simultaneously hold an average of 50-plus in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. With 70 international centuries, he is third on the all-time list behind the likes of Sachin Tendulkar (100) and Ricky Ponting (71).

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