Suryakumar Yadav becomes third Indian batter after Rohit and Virat to achieve special T20I feat
Captain Suryakumar Yadav became the third Indian batter after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to achieve a special milestone in the shortest format during the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram on January 31.
New Delhi: India captain Suryakumar Yadav created history during the fifth T20I match against New Zealand at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, January 15. He smashed 63 runs off 30 balls in the final T20I against the Kiwis and became just the third Indian to score 3,000 T20I runs after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
He also became the fastest batter to reach the milestone in terms of balls faced. UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem is second on the list, taking 1947 balls to achieve the same feat, while England’s Jos Buttler is third with 2068 balls.
Former Australia captains Aaron Finch and David Warner are also in the list, completing 3000 runs in 2077 and 2113 balls, respectively. Team India's senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli achieved the milestone in 2149 and 2169 balls, respectively.
| Rank | Player | Country | Balls Faced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suryakumar Yadav | India | 1,822 |
| 2 | Muhammad Waseem | UAE | 1,947 |
| 3 | Jos Buttler | England | 2,068 |
| 4 | Aaron Finch | Australia | 2,077 |
| 5 | David Warner | Australia | 2,113 |
| 6 | Rohit Sharma | India | 2,149 |
| 7 | Virat Kohli | India | 2,169 |
Suryakumar has scored 3030 runs in 104 T20I matches at an average of 36.95, smashing four centuries and 24 fifties with a top score of 117. He's only behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on the list of most runs scored for India in the shortest format. Rohit has smashed 4231 runs in 159 matches, hitting five hundreds and 32 fifties, while Kohli scored 4188 runs in 125 games with the help of one ton and 38 half-centuries.
Suryakumar also became the second-fastest Indian batter to achieve this milestone, after Kohli, who completed it in 81 innings. He missed the opportunity to join MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma as the fourth Indian to score 1,000 runs in T20Is as skipper. Suryakumar was 73 runs short of the milestone before the start of the fifth T20I match and was dismissed for 63.
India set 272-run target for New Zealand in 5th T20I
The Men in Blue have posted 271/5 in 20 overs after opting to bat first in the fifth T20I. Sanju Samson failed to score runs again and was removed by Lockie Ferguson for 6. Ishan Kishan smashed his maiden T20I century, scoring 103 runs off 43 balls with the help of 10 maximums and six boundaries. Suryakumar also amassed 63 runs off 30 balls, while Hardik Pandya played a brilliant cameo in the end, smashing 42 runs off 17 balls as India set a massive target for the Kiwis.