The Indian Men’s team skipper- Virat Kohli and Women’s team skipper- Mithali Raj were on a record-breaking spree as they went onto shatter several records in the last couple of days. To the delight of the Indians fans, the Run-machine Virat Kohli was back in his prime touch and his commanding leg-side flicks were seen in full flow against the World no.1 T20I side.
The skipper played a crucial knock of 73* of 49 balls and helped Team India level the 5-match series 1-1. Though for the Women’s side their skipper did reach a few intriguing records, the team failed to contain the proteas the visitors managed to seal the 5-match series 3-1, leaving the final ODI to be a dead rubber.
Cricwizz brings you a list of records that were broken by the Indian skippers in the last few games.
12,000
Virat Kohli becomes the third player to join the prestigious club of 12,000 international runs as captain. He joins an elite list of captains namely former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and former South African captain Graeme Smith who has amassed over 12,000 international runs across all formats.
3001
Needing 72 runs for 3000 runs, the Indian skipper’s knock of 73 unbeaten meant that he became the first batsman in the world to score 3,000 runs in International T20. The Indian run-machine now holds 3,001 runs from 87 T20I matches holding a stunning average of 50.86 and is also the leading run-scorer in the T20 format.
26
Courtesy of his unbeaten 73 against England in the 2nd T20I against England, Virat Kohli scored his 26th Half-century. This takes the Indian captain to the top of the list with the most half-centuries in the shortest format of the game surpassing his teammate Rohit Sharma, who had scored 25 half-centuries in T20I to date.
84
With the last six of the game, Virat Kohli won the match for India and entered the 3K club. This was his 84th maximum in the T20I format of the game. He is the second most scorer of sixes behind only Rohit Sharma who has hit 127 sixes. Though he stands first when it comes to boundaries, Hitting 270 four’s, the most by any player in the format.
10
As ever leading from the front, Virat Kohli scored his 10th fifty as captain in the ongoing T20 series against England. He is one short of Kane Williamson, captain of the New Zealand cricket team who has scored 11 half-centuries in the T20I game. Kohli and Williamson are the only captains to have ten plus fifty scores in all three formats of the game.
7000
Magnificent Mithali, During the fourth match against South Africa women, became the first cricketer to score 7K runs in the ODI format of women’s cricket. Playing her 213th match, Mithali Raj scored a 71 ball 45 as she accomplished this achievement. The veteran batswoman is also the first player to score 6,000 runs in a women’s ODI.
21
Undoubtedly one of the greatest in the game, As of June 2020, Mithali Raj completed 21 years in cricket since making her debut in June 1999. With only a few months remaining, She will soon complete 22 years. She is second to one and only Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar who played the game for 22 years and 91 days in all of cricket.
200
Declaring her dominance in the game, Mithali Raj is the first woman to play 200 matches in ODI format. Her milestone came in India’s ODI against New Zealand, which the Kiwi women’s team won comfortably. Currently, the Indian women’s skipper has played 213 ODI’s, which is the most in women’s cricket. Well ahead of England’s Charlotte Edwards who has played only 191 ODI’s.
54
Scoring a half-century in the 1st ODI in the ongoing series against South Africa women’s cricket, accounted for Mithali Raj’s 54th half-century in women’s ODI which is the most by any women’s cricketer. The veteran batswoman is the only women’s cricketer to score fifty half centuries, the next most being England's Charlotte Edwards with 46.
The Indian skippers have led by example and have set high standards for their respective teams. With team India in safe hands in both men and women formats of the game, fans can look optimistically with more success to follow. Tell us which record of the Indian captains have stood out for you and who between them have impressed you the most.
