After defeating the West Indies 3-0 in the previous ODI, India is aiming for a second straight clean sweep with Rohit Sharma back in the lineup. The action switches to Twenty20s, where the home team is expected to be a formidable force. However, India has a full-strength pack, including Rohit, who returns after taking a break during the 50-over series. With the World T20 less than three months away, Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid are working to fix a few batting issues. Scroll down to read more details about Will Rohit Sharma Beat Sachin Tendulkar To Elite Milestone.
Will Rohit Sharma Beat Sachin Tendulkar To Elite Milestone?
Rohit, who is still crucial to India’s success in the T20 championship match, also has a chance to reach some personal milestones. He needs 108 more runs to reach 16,000 in international cricket. He will finish as many runs across all formats, making him the seventh Indian cricketer to do so.
The current leaders are Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Rahul Dravid (24,208), Virat Kohli (23,726), Sourav Ganguly (18,575), MS Dhoni (17,266), and Virender Sehwag (17,253). Rohit is currently in last place. A three-figure total in the Twenty20 series opener will bring Rohit one step closer to joining the exclusive group.
As New Zealand defeated Scotland on Wednesday, the 35-year-old can also surpass Martin Guptill. Martin has surpassed Rohit to become the player with the most runs scored in T20 Internationals. Guptill currently leads the India captain by 20 runs with 3,399 in T20Is. In addition to Rohit, Guptill is closely followed on the list by current Australia captain Aaron Finch. Aaron is fourth with 2,855 runs, former India captain Virat Kohli (3,308), and Ireland’s skipper Paul Stirling (2,894).
The youthful Pant, who may open the innings to form a left-right combo at the top, will also be in the focus in the first Twenty20, in addition to Rohit. The 24-year-old dasher helped India win the three-match series 2-1. He scored his first ODI century and chased down 260 in the last match of the series at Manchester.
THE NO.3 CONUNDRUM
In place of Ravindra Jadeja, who has been dealing with a knee injury, Ravichandran Ashwin might rejoin the bowling lineup. In the absence of ace hitter Virat Kohli from the lineup, Deepak Hooda, like Ashwin, aims to take advantage of the chance.
Hooda, who recorded a 200 against Ireland, was compelled to give Kohli the starting spot during the England series. In terms of India’s batting order, number three may be a position that is up for grabs. Shreyas Iyer has also put up his hand for the position. In his first three matches in the West Indies, he has amassed 161 runs at an average of 53.67.
