IND vs SA 1st T20I: Team India’s stand-in captain, Suryakumar Yadav, for the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa is eyeing to equal run-machine Virat Kohli’s record in the T20Is. The batter will aim to surpass Virat Kohli in the list of players with 2000 T20I runs in the fewest innings as he takes guard in the opening T20I against South Africa in Durban.
Notably, Virat Kohli is the fastest Indian batter to score 2000 international runs in the T20 format by taking just 56 innings. The second in the elite list is KL Rahul, who achieved this milestone in 58 innings, while Rohit Sharma is third in the order after he took 77 innings to complete 2000 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav is just 15 runs away from touching the magic number of 2000 runs in the T20Is. The sublime batter has amassed 1985 T20I runs in 55 innings and needs to score 15 or more in the first T20I against South Africa in Kingsmed, Durban.
The milestone is important as the other players in the elite list of fastest to score 2000 T20I runs are top-order batters, but Suryakumar Yadav is a middle-order batter, who is often kept safe until the last 5 overs of the innings. Interestingly, more than half of his runs have come at a strike rate of 165 in the middle orders.
The overall record is jointly held by Pakistan’s opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have individually scored 2000 T20I runs in just 52 innings. Indian maestro batter Virat Kohli is third in the list followed by KL Rahul and Aaron Finch.
Below is the list of players who have been fastest to 2000 T20I runs:
| No | Player | Country | Innings | Matches |
| 01 | Babar Azam | Pakistan | 52 | 54 |
| = | Mohammad Rizwan | Pakistan | 52 | 63 |
| 03 | Virat Kohli | India | 56 | 60 |
| 04 | KL Rahul | India | 58 | 62 |
| 05 | Aaron Finch | Australia | 62 | 62 |
IND vs SA 1st T20I: India’s Likely Playing11
When asked about Team India’s possible combination for the first T20I against South Africa in Durban, the stand-in captain said the team has internally finalised the playing11 for the game. He asserted that the management is clear in its approach and understands what is required.
“We have the combination in mind. We know who is going to open tomorrow, and perhaps, will take a final call after the practice session today,” said Suryakumar Yadav in the pre-match press conference for the IND vs SA 1st T20I.
The captain seems to be pleased with how his players have turned up after India’s World Cup 2023 defeat. India got back to business with a five-match T20I series against Australia, a few days after India’s painful defeat against Australia in the World Cup 2023 Final in Ahmedabad.
“The players put their hands up against Australia and came up with fearless cricket, and we need to play the same against South Africa. I just told them (players) to do exactly what they do in franchise cricket,” he remarked.
India’s expected Playing11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
For more head to the official website: BCCI