Source: hindustantimes.com
After showcasing a rare batting failure in the penultimate clash of the T20I series, Indian run-machine Virat Kohli made amends by playing a sublime knock against Australia at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday. Staging India’s impressive comeback with an on-song Suryakumar Yadav, Kohli slammed a match-winning half-century as Rahul Dravid-coached Team India outclassed Aaron Finch & Co. in the final-over thriller at Hyderabad.
Synonymous with batting records across all formats of the game, Kohli surpassed Rahul Dravid in an elite list on Sunday. The milestone man of the Men In Blue has managed to overtake Dravid’s run tally of 24,064 runs in international cricket. Team India head coach Dravid had amassed over 24k runs in 504 matches for the Asian giants from 1996 to 2012. Kohli scored 63 off 48 balls in the series decider to eclipse Dravid in the all-time list of India’s leading run-getters.
Kohli is already ahead of the likes of Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag in the special list. The former Indian skipper has accumulated 24078 runs for Team India in 471 international matches. Interestingly, the 33-year-old is only behind Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the exclusive club. Batting legend Tendulkar smashed 34,357 runs for Team India in 664 international matches.
Batting maestro Kohli has slammed 71 centuries and 125 half-centuries for India in international cricket. Earlier, Kohli ended his 1020-day century drought in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup. The former Indian skipper is the second-highest run-getter in the history of T20I cricket. Kohli has scored 3,660 runs for India in 107 T20Is. Kohli is only behind Indian skipper Rohit, who is the all-time leading run-getter (3,660) in T20I cricket.
“The game shouldn’t have gone on that long, we should have probably had 4 or 5 to chase in the final over. It was important to maintain my composure and get one boundary (on that first-ball six in the 20th over). I’m happy with my contribution to the team, I took a break, went back to the nets, worked hard on my fitness and think it’s coming off well. I want to keep contributing and doing my best for the team,” Kohli said after India defeated Australia by 6 wickets to seal the T20I series 2-1 on Sunday.
