Top 3 Rohit Sharma T20I knocks against West Indies
Following a 3-0 triumph in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, India will now lock horns with the Windies in the shortest format. All three T20Is will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 16, 18 and 20.
India's white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma will be eager to get the team combination right from the start. He will also aim to extend his red-hot T20 form after being adjudged the Player of the Series in India's last T20I assignment against New Zealand.
Rohit has already established himself as one of the all-time greats in the shortest format. Currently the second-highest run-scorer for India in T20Is, the right-hander has amassed 3,197 runs in 111 innings, just 30 shy of Virat Kohli. The Nagpur-born batter averages 33.30 and operates at an amazing strike rate of 140 in the T20Is. He is also the only player to smash four T20I tons.
Rohit has a brilliant T20I record against the Windies as well, scoring 519 runs in 15 innings at an average of 43.25 and a strike rate of 141. With four half-centuries and a century to his name, he is the highest run-getter from the Indian camp against West Indies in the T20Is.
On that note, let's look at Rohit Sharma's top three T20I knocks against the Windies.
#3 71 (34 balls), Mumbai 2019
After winning the toss and putting the hosts to bat first, West Indies were on the receiving end of some monstrous hitting by Rohit and KL Rahul.
The two openers provided India with a scintillating start, smashing 135 runs in just 11.4 overs.
After registering his fifty off only 23 deliveries, Rohit went on to score 71 runs in just 34 balls. He utilized the batting-friendly Wankhede pitch to his advantage and hit six boundaries and five maximums. Rahul top-scored for India with his 91 off 56 deliveries and took the hosts' total to a mammoth 240-3.
The Indian seamers then made a strong start, reducing West Indies to 17-3. Shimron Hetmyer and skipper Keiron Pollard tried to build a partnership and added 74 quick runs for the fourth wicket. However, the target was always going to be a steep chase for the Windies.
India comfortably sealed a 67-run victory to clinch the series 2-1. While Rahul was adjudged the Player of the Match, erstwhile Indian skipper Virat Kohli was named the Player of the Series.
#2 67 (51 balls) Florida, 2019
India won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow Launderhill surface in Florida in the second game of the series.
Normal proceedings resumed at the top of the order, as Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan gave Team India a formidable start, with the duo adding 67 runs inside eight overs.
Dhawan's dismissal brought Kohli to the crease, with the former Indian skipper maintaining the flow of runs alongside Rohit.
Rohit top-scored for India, smasing 67 runs off 51 balls with the aid of six fours and three sixes. Team India posted a competent total of 167 runs following a late came from Krunal Pandya.
In reply, West Indies lost two early wickets - Evin Lewis and Sunil Narine - inside three overs. Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell then stitched together a 76-run partnership. Powell's counter-attacking 34-ball 54 had India on the ropes. But his dismissal, as part of a double-strike from Krunal Pandya, left the Windies reeling.
During the 16th over, with West Indies at 98-4, it started to rain. After an hour of continuous pouring, the play was called off. India won by 22 runs via the DLS method and sealed the three-match series with a game to spare.
Krunal Pandya was named the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
#1 111* (61 balls) Lucknow, 2018
In his usual but commanding fashion, Rohit Sharma smashed a resounding ton against the Windies in the second T20I of the three-match series in November 2018.
The only thing that went in the visitors' favor in Lucknow was the toss. The Windies won it and asked India to bat first. The hosts played cautiously in the first three overs, adding only 11 runs.
However, from there on, Rohit led India's charge and clobbered eight boundaries and as many as seven maximums.
Long boundaries at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium Stadium didn't bother the right-hander as he cleared them with ease. By whacking Carlos Brathwaite for consecutive fours in the last over, the skipper reached a well-made century off just 58 deliveries. He then smashed the penultimate ball of the innings over long-off for a six. On the back of Rohit's fourth T20I ton, India posted 195-2.
Chasing 196, West Indies were never in the hunt. The Carlos Braithwaite-led side kept losing wickets at regular intervals as no Windies batter scored more than 23 runs.
The visitors stopped at 124 for 9, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav each scalping a couple of wickets.