Rohit Sharma dethrones Guptill to become leading run-scorer in T20Is

Tarouba (Trinidad): India skipper Rohit Sharma went past New Zealand opener Martin Guptill to regain first place in the list of top run-getters in T20 Internationals during the first T20I of the five-match series against West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium, here on Friday.

Rohit, who was rested for the ODIs, looked in solid touch on his comeback and played some glorious shots. The ace opener scored 64 off 44 during his stay at the crease and in the process, he reclaimed his position as the highest run-getter (3443 runs) in T20Is from Martin Guptill (3399 runs).

Earlier this week, Guptill had surpassed Rohit to become the leading run-scorer in the shortest format. The Indian captain needed 21 runs before the start of the first T20I against West Indies to go past the Kiwi batter.

Guptill is closely followed by former India captain Virat Kohli (3,308), Ireland’s Paul Stirling (2,894), and Australian captain Aaron Finch, who is fifth on the list with 2,855 runs.

Notably, former India skipper Kohli was the first to breach the 3000-run mark in T20Is when he achieved the feat in 2021 during the second T20I of the home series against England in Ahmedabad.

The 2000-run mark was first crossed by Guptill’s countryman, Brendon McCullum eight years back. McCullum was, in fact, the first to cross the 1000-run barrier too in men’s T20Is.