India vs West Indies 2019: 5 records that were broken in the 1st T20I
Indian skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with a captivating 50-ball unbeaten 94 as the hosts overcame West Indies with ease in the first T20I of the three-match series at Hyderabad. Required to chase down 208 to win, India got home by six wickets and eight balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead.
Apart from Kohli, KL Rahul, opening the batting in place of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, also made a significant contribution. The confident-looking Rahul made a handsome 62 from 40 balls and featured in a 100-run stand with captain Kohli for the second wicket. The partnership brought India back on track in the chase after they lost Rohit Sharma early.
While Kohli hit six fours and an equal number of sixes, Rahul struck five fours and four sixes in his half-century. The duo’s brilliance overshadowed an impressive collective batting effort from West Indies, which saw Shimron Hetmyer blasting a half-century and Evin Lewis (40 from 17 balls), skipper Kieron Pollard (37 from 19 balls), and Jason Holder (24* from 9) make useful contributions.
A number of records were broken, and new ones created during the first T20I between India and West Indies. Here’s a look at five of them.
#1 Virat Kohli goes past Rohit Sharma’s tally of T20I half-centuries
At the start of Hyderabad T20I, Kohli and Rohit were tied on 22 half-centuries each in the format. However, while the Indian opener could not add to his tally of fifties, Kohli went on to create history, registering his 23rd score of over fifty.
Also see – Ranji Trophy points table
The Indian captain thus is now the lone holder of the record for most T20I fifties. He is followed by Rohit, Martin Guptill (17), David Warner/ Paul Stirling (16).
#2 Kohli’s T20I best
Kohli’s knock of 94 not out from 50 balls at Hyderabad is now his career-best in the format. The Indian captain’s previous best was the unbeaten 90 he made against Australia at Adelaide on January 26, 2016. Kohli’s knock against the Aussies came off 55 balls and featured nine fours and two sixes. Having posted 188 for 3 batting first, India won that match by 37 runs.
#3 Rahul becomes the second fastest Indian batsman to 1,000 T20I runs
During his knock on Friday, KL Rahul became the second-fastest Indian batsman to complete 1,000 T20I runs. At the start of the match, Rahul needed 26 runs to cross the landmark and got there with a six.
Rahul reached the 1000-run landmark in what was his 29th innings, just two more than Kohli (27). Overall, Rahul is tied at the third spot with Australian skipper Aaron Finch, who also took 29 innings to cross 1,000 T20I runs.
Pakistan’s Babar Azam tops the list, having reached 1,000 runs in 26 innings.
#4 Highest T20I chase by India
The chase of 208 at Hyderabad is now India’s best ever in T20Is. Their previous best was 207 vs Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2009 when Yuvraj Singh’s all-round effort (3 for 23 and 60 from 25 balls) led India to victory. Yuvraj was the hero in India’s only other chase of 200-plus. He scored 77 from 35 as India gunned down Australia’s challenging target of 202 at Rajkot in 2013.
#5 Kesrick Williams’ unwanted record
West Indies medium-pacer Kesrick Williams had a forgettable outing as he was taken for 60 runs in 3.4 overs, and failed to pick up a single wicket. Williams’ figures are now the worst in T20Is by a West Indian bowler.
The previous worst was shared by three bowlers -- Nikita Miller, Carlos Brathwaite and Oshane Thomas, all of whom conceded 56 runs in a T20I.