IND v AUS 2020: KL Rahul equals Kohli, Finch, and Azam's world record
Indian wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul has equaled captain Virat Kohli, Pakistani skipper Babar Azam, and Australia's leader Aaron Finch to become the joint-fastest player to score 1,500 runs in T20 internationals.
KL Rahul achieved this feat during the first T20I match of the 3-match series against Australia in Canberra. Interestingly, the IPL 2020 Orange Cap winner needed 39 runs to match Kohli, Azam, and Finch's tallies. All three players reached this landmark in their respective 39th T20I innings.
KL Rahul has ruled white-ball cricket in 2020
The 28-year-old from Karnataka has dominated the bowlers in white-ball cricket this year. KL Rahul played a match-winning role for the Indian cricket team in its historic 5-0 T20I series win over New Zealand earlier in the year. He also performed brilliantly in the ODI series against the Black Caps.
The right-handed batsman has been quite impressive on the Australian tour so far. Recreating his IPL 2020 form, KL Rahul hit a half-century versus the Aussies in Canberra today. He had also played a knock of 76 runs in the second ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
KL Rahul topped the run-charts among the Indian batsmen in ODI cricket this year, thereby ending Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's dominance in the format. He is also a strong contender to end 2020 as the highest run-getter for the Indian T20I team.
The Kings XI Punjab captain has scored 374 runs in nine T20Is so far this year. It is pertinent to note that no other Indian player has aggregated over 200 T20I runs in 2020. Rahul will aim to finish off the season with two match-winning performances against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The next two T20I matches between India and Australia will take place on Sunday and Tuesday in Sydney.