IND vs WI, 1st T20I: KL Rahul Just 26 Runs Short From Setting New Batting Record

Rahul currently has 974 runs in the shortest format, averaging 41.34 in just 31 matches (28 innings)

Indian batsman KL Rahul would enter an elite list of Indian batsmen when he walks out to bat in the first T20I against West Indies in Hyderabad on Friday. He needs 26 more runs to become the 7th Indian batsman with 1000 runs in T20 Internationals. Rahul currently has 974 runs in the shortest format, averaging 41.34 in just 31 matches (28 innings). While Rohit Sharma (2539) leads the chart, the likes of Virat Kohli (2450), MS Dhoni (1617), Suresh Raina (1605), Shikhar Dhawan (1504), Yuvraj Singh (1177) are already in the list. Moreover, the Karnataka batsman has an opportunity to also become the 2nd fastest Indian to notch up the four figures. Captain Kohli holds the record, having got there in just 27 innings. If Rahul reaches the feat in Hyderabad itself, he will be the joint 3^rd-fastest in the world to do so. Pakistan batting mainstay Babar Azam (26 innings) remains the fastest batsman to have reached 1000 runs in T20Is. Rahul had a promising outing against Bangladesh in the recently-concluded T20I series decider. He scored a match-winning fifty, handing India a 2-1 series win. The right-hand batsman also slammed three fifties in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy and remained the part of Karnataka’s title-winnings spree. On the other hand, West Indies’ newly-appointed skipper Kieron Pollard is also on the verge of getting 1000 T20I runs. He has 953 runs in 65 matches and has a good opportunity to achieve the landmark in the 3-match series.