New Zealand opener Martin Guptill surpasses India’s former T20I skipper Virat Kohli to become the leading run-scorer in T20Is. Guptill went past Kohli’s tally of runs in the second T20I at JSCA International Stadium Complex Stadium, Ranchi.
Before the clash, Guptill had 3,217 runs from 110 matches and needed 11 more runs to get to the top of the list. The hard-hitting opener achieved the milestone with a boundary off Bhuvenshwar Kumar in the first over of T20I. The 35-year-old scored 14 runs in the first over including three boundaries and a couple of runs. He got out after scoring 31 runs from 15 deliveries including three fours and two sixes. Deepak Chahar got his wicket for the second time in the series.
He was dropped by KL Rahul on the fourth delivery of the innings. The veteran could not pick the knuckleball bowled by Bhuvneshwar but survived as Rahul could not hold on to the ball upon impact. He also got his first boundary with a thick edge that went past the first slip fielder.
“We got to knockout stage in the T20 World Cup, so that was good. The other night we were just a little short of where we wanted to be with the bat. It's all about contributing to the team and doing whatever I can to get us to win. I contributed a bit with the bat in the T20 World Cup and took it very deep against Scotland. I just want to go out tonight and do the same things that I have been doing. There is no guarantee in T20 cricket,” the Kiwi opener had said before the second T20I.
In the first T20I, Guptill scored 72 runs from 40 deliveries including three fours and four sixes. He top scored for New Zealand and helped them post 164/6 in the first innings in Jaipur.
Guptill's competition
On the other hand, Kohli has scored 3,227 runs from 95 matches at an average of 52.04 including 29 half-centuries. While Kohli has been rested for the T20I series, India’s newly-appointed T20I skipper Rohit Sharma is the third batter with more than 3,000 runs in the format. Before the second T20I, Rohit had 3,086 runs from 117 matches at an average of 32.82 including four centuries and 24 half-centuries.
