Rohit Sharma added another fresh feather to his already illustrious hat. India’s milestone man became the first men’s cricketer from the country to appear in 100 Twenty20 International matches when he stepped out for the toss – Rohit is India’s stand-in captain for the Bangladesh T20I series – at Rajkot on November 07, 2019 (Thursday). The 32-year-old, who is already India’s highest capped T20I player, joined Indian women’s skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to reach the feat. Hitman is also only the second men in cricket’s history – Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik leads the elite list with 111 T20I appearances – to play in 100 or more Twenty20 International matches. India Vs Bangladesh, Cricket Score 2nd T20I Match.

The 32-year-old opener, who was appointed the Indian captain for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, is only second to Malik. Rohit, who equalled another Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi’s record of 99 T20I appearances in India’s seven-wicket defeat in the first T20I at Delhi, has now overtaken Afridi to become the men’s cricketer with the second-highest number of appearances.

Rohit Sharma On 100th T20I Appearance

 

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Rohit already leads the batting charts in T20I cricket and is the highest run-scorer in Twenty20 Internationals. He overtook compatriot Kohli (2450) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the opening over of the game after Bangladesh skipper Mahmuddullah opted to field first. The Hitman, who sits at the top of T20I run-scoring charts, has so far scored 2452 runs and will look to add to the tally with a big knock at Rajkot.

The defeat at Delhi was his first loss as a skipper in a T20I match at home after six consecutive victories. The seven-wicket loss was also India’s first defeat to Bangladesh in Twenty20 Internationals. Before the start of the series, India were unbeaten against Bangladesh in T20 internationals and led the head-to-head margin by an 8-0 margin.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 07, 2019 06:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).