Rohit Sharma-led India are high on confidence after a 3-0 whitewash against West Indies at home. India were not upto the mark on South Africa tour but the Rohit-led side is yet to lose a T20I after T20 World Cup 2021. As India take on neighbours Sri Lanka in a three-T20I series, there is one statistic that will make Indian batters think twice before converting ones into twos or taking a quick single.
As per OptaJim, Sri Lanka have a direct hit accuracy rate of 24 per cent since the beginning of World Cup last year. The statistic suggests that Sri Lankan fielders have hit the stumps one out of four times in these 13 clashes. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lankan fielders fare against India, especially in powerplay overs when top order batters look to tap and steal a quick single and later in death overs.
Sri Lanka were knocked out of the mega event in group stage but they topped their qualifier group. After the World Cup, Sri Lanka have played only five T20Is in the recently concluded series against Australia. It will be a chance for India to avenge the defeat of their second-string side on Sri Lankan soil last year. Also, a series win help them extend the lead over other teams in ICC T20I rankings.
On the other hand, Rohit is just 37 runs away from becoming the leading T20I run-scorer in the world. The all-format Indian skipper will surpass Martin Guptill, who is sitting at the top of the list with 3,299 runs from 112 games. He is followed by Virat Kohli, who is not a part of the T20I squad as he has been rested ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka. The third spot currently belongs to Rohit. The 34-year-old has scored 3,263 runs from 112 games including four centuries and 26 half-centuries.
Even if Rohit does not score 37 runs in the T20I series which is highly unlikely, he will go past Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik anyway. While Rohit has played 122 games, Malik has represented Pakistan in 124 T20Is. After the series, Malik will have a chance to go past Rohit again when Australia tour Pakistan.
