Indian opener Rohit Sharma achieved yet another milestone in the fourth T20I against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday as he became the second Indian and ninth player overall to reach 9000 T20 runs.
India and England are facing each other in the 4th T20I where the hosts are trying to keep the series alive by winning it as the visitors have taken a 2-1 lead in the previous encounter.
The 33-year-old, who made his first appearance of the series on Tuesday, needed just 11 runs to reach the milestone after making 15 off 17 balls last time around.
Rohit achieved the feat in the very first over of the game, bowled by English leg-spinner Adil Rashid, scoring a six and a four in the process. Rohit took the stride and welcomed Rashid with a maximum over long-off on the very first delivery of the match. The second boundary of the over also came off Rohit’s bat as he flicked Rashid and notched up the second boundary of the first over as he raced towards mid-wicket. The first over yielded 12 runs.
Rohit’s tally of 9000 runs comes from all T20 matches played, including international and franchise cricket. Though handing India the perfect start, Rohit was caught by Jofra Archer of his own delivery as the opener went for 12 off 12.
Virat Kohli – First Indian to 9000 T20 Runs
Captain Virat Kohli (9650 runs) is the only other Indian cricketer with 9000-plus runs in the shortest format, while Chris Gayle (West Indies – 13296), Kieron Pollard (WI – 10370), Shoaib Malik (Pakistan – 9926), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand – 9922), David Warner (Australia – 9451), Aaron Finch (AU – 9148) and AB de Villiers (South Africa – 9111) are also part of the list.