Team India captain Rohit Sharma made history on September 20 by hitting a six off Pat Cummins’ delivery in the first T20I against Australia in Mohali. The swashbuckling openers equaled New Zealand opener Martin Guptill’s record of hitting the most sixes in T20I history. It was the second over of the game when Rohit flicked the ball over fine-leg for a six.
Got his name in record books
He failed to score big and was dismissed on 11, but the six he hit to Cummins helped him get his name in the record books. Rohit has now smashed 172 sixes in T20I cricket, while Guptill has also cleared the rope at the same time in this format.
The two opening batters are far ahead of their contemporaries, with Chris Gayle coming in second with 124 sixes in 79 matches. While recently retired former England captain Eoin Morgan (120 sixes) and Australian captain Aaron Finch (117) are next on the elusive list.
Meanwhile, Rohit was dismissed by Hazlewood after attempting to clear the rope for the second time but missing the timing and being caught by Nathan Ellis.
In-form Virat Kohli also failed to score big and was dismissed after only two balls. The hosts were in trouble after losing their two best batters early on, but KL Rahul rose to the occasion and worked with Suryakumar Yadav to rebuild the Indian innings.
Rahul didn’t miss anything in his hitting zone after taking his time, and his pick-up shot, in particular, was excellent, resulting in a couple of sixes. Suryakumar, on the other hand, was complementing Rahul well with regular boundaries as the duo didn’t let the run-rate slow down and took India to 86/2 after 10 overs. The pair shared a crucial 68-run stand for the third wicket, which aided India’s comeback in the game.
With his strike rate under scrutiny, Rahul made a statement with a high-quality 55 off 35 balls before Hardik smashed an unbeaten 71 off 30 balls, including five sixes, as India posted a mammoth 208/6 on the board.
