3 Indian batters who got out on 49 in T20Is ft. Virat Kohli
Often they say, the T20 format is not about reaching the milestone, but having a necessary impact on the team's result. Many players receive criticism from fans due to them slowing down their pace of innings when they inch closer to 50s or 100s.
Cricket fans often associate selflessness with the fast-paced format like T20, which demands the player to be carefree about his milestones and achievements. Recently, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was lauded for this quality during his knock of 92 off 41 balls against Australia in 2024 T20 World Cup.
In the past, there have been multiple instances of Indian players missing out on their 50s in the shortest format. Let's take a look at whether luck didn't favor them or they were dismissed due to the proficient line-length of the bowlers.
#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad
Generally an opening batter, Ruturaj Gaikwad arrived at No. 4 for the Indian team in the third T20I against Zimbabwe on July 10 in Harare. With over 80 runs on the board in the 11th over, Gaikwad had to continue the well-built momentum. He certainly did that by hitting a maximum in only his sixth ball.
Gaikwad scored consistent boundaries and rotated the strike well throughout his stay at the crease. The right-handed batter took out a four and a six in the penultimate over and was on course to deliver a strong finish to the team. However, he could only slash the fuller ball to the throat of a deep point fielder and was dismissed for a well-made 49 off 28. Along with his support and Gill's 66, India posted 182 on the board.
Then, Washington Sundar claimed figures of 3/15 off four overs and helped India to win by 23 runs.
#2 Virat Kohli
The 2016 Asia Cup between India and Pakistan was a thrilling encounter that went down at Mirpur. Hardik Pandya (3/8) was the pick of the bowlers for India, as they bundled out Pakistan for a paltry total of 83.
Thereafter, India were rocked by triple strikes from Mohammad Amir, as Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, while Suresh Raina was dismissed for 1. However, the ice-cool, Virat Kohli along with the experienced Yuvraj Singh handled the pressure quite well.
Kohli was the key run-scorer in this partnership, as he kept finding odd boundaries to steer the team. The 15th over of the innings saw Kohli trying to nudge the ball towards the mid-wicket to complete his fifty. However, during his attempt, Kohli was trapped LBW by Mohammad Sami on 49 off 51, with seven fours.
However, Kohli's contribution helped India to seal the chase with four overs to spare. Yuvraj was the second highest run-scorer with 14 off 32 balls.
#3 MS Dhoni
Throughout his T20I career, MS Dhoni hit only two fifties. One of the occasions he missed out on a half-century was against New Zealand in November 2017 in Rajkot.
Batting first, New Zealand set up a mammoth target of 197 runs, with Colin Munro hitting 109* off 58 balls, with seven fours and as many sixes.
In response, India lost Rohit Sharma (5) and Shikhar Dhawan (1) early. However, the 54-run partnership between Shreyas Iyer (23) and Virat Kohli (65) kept the team in the hunt. Then, Hardik Pandya (1) failed to rise to the occasion.
Dhoni came to the crease at the ninth over, with India at 67/4. By the time, he could assess the situation, the match was already out of hand for India, as Kohli's wicket in the 17th over resulted in the team's slide.
However, the former keeper-batter played a well-compiled innings of 49 off 37, before getting dismissed by Trent Boult in the last over. The Indian team went on to lose by a 40-run margin.