IND vs SA 3rd T20I: Virat Kohli 17 Runs Away From Joining Martin Guptill And Brendon McCullum in This Elite Club
The Kohli-led side will be hoping to wrap-up the South Africa tour with a win and take home the series in the shorter format of the game as well.
India and South Africa meet in the third and final T20I at the Newlands in Cape Town. The three-match T20I series is currently locked at one each and thus, a fitting finale to India’s tour of South Africa is on cards. India won the opening T20I handsomely by 28 runs. However, the hosts bounced back to register a six-wicket win in the second T20I at Centurion and with it drew level in the series. While India will be looking to clinch yet another series win, captain Virat Kohli is on the cusp of yet another batting milestone. The Indian skipper is just 17 runs away from becoming the third batsman in T20I history to complete 2000 runs. The list is topped by New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, who has 2271 runs against his name. Second on the list is former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum with 2140 runs.
Kohli, who needed 44 runs at the start of the series to reach the 2000-run mark, managed to score 26 in the first T20I and then was dismissed for just one run at Centurion. If Kohli manages to score the required runs, he will become the fastest to 2000 runs in T20s. So far, Kohli has played 57 T20Is (53 innings).
Guptill, who completed 2000 runs in T20Is last month, took 70 matches (68 innings) to reach the milestone. McCullum, on the other hand, took 67 matches (66 innings) to complete his 2000 runs.
Most Runs in T20Is
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 |
| Martin Guptill (NZ) | 75 | 73 | 7 | 2271 | 105 | 34.40 | 132.88 | 2 | 14 | 2 |
| Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 71 | 70 | 10 | 2140 | 123 | 35.66 | 136.21 | 2 | 13 | 3 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 57 | 53 | 14 | 1983 | 90* | 50.84 | 137.32 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 80 | 79 | 12 | 1889 | 104* | 28.19 | 120.54 | 1 | 13 | 10 |
| Shoaib Malik (PAK) | 92 | 86 | 24 | 1821 | 75 | 29.37 | 117.63 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
*Stats till India vs South Africa 2nd T20I
Other Stats Ahead of Ind vs Sa 3rd T20I
- India will be eyeing to stay unbeaten as the Men in Blue have not lost any of the last four T20I series. Apart from drawn series against Australia, India managed to beat Sri Lanka twice and New Zealand once.
- This will be the maiden T20I for India at the Newlands, Cape Town.
- Hosts South Africa have played eight matches at the venue, winning just three. Out of last six matches at Newlands, South Africa have won just one. The victory came against England in 2016.
- England’s 188/9 against Zimbabwe during the World T20 2007 is the highest team total at Newlands, Cape Town.
- Sri Lanka were bundled out for just 101 runs against Australia during the World T20 2007 and that remains the lowest team total at the venue.
It has largely been an impressive tour for India, especially having notched their maiden ODI series win in South Africa. The Kohli-led side will be hoping to wrap-up the South Africa tour with a win and take home the series in the shorter format of the game as well.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2018 06:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).