K.L. Rahul enters record books in wicketkeeping gloves

K.L. Rahul is the third batsman from a Test-playing nation to notch a 50+ score while keeping wickets for the first time in a T20I.

K.L. Rahul, the wicketkeeper, in action against New Zealand in the T20I series.

3

The number of players from a Test-playing nation who managed to register a 50-plus score while keeping wickets for the first time in a Twenty20 International match. K. L. Rahul’s 56 in India’s first T20I against New Zealand at Auckland is the now the highest by a batsman from a major cricketing side who was keeping wickets for the first time.

Highest T20I scores by a player keeping wickets for the first time

Runs	Wicketkeeper	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
56	K. L. Rahul	India	New Zealand	Auckland	January 24, 2020	Won
55	Shai Hope	West Indies	Bangladesh	Sylhet	December 17, 2018	Won
53	Sam Billings	England	Pakistan	Dubai	November 26, 2015	Won
45*	Tatenda Taibu	Zimbabwe	Sri Lanka	King City	October 10, 2008	Lost
43	Rahmanullah Gurbaz	Afghanistan	Zimbabwe	Mirpur	September 14, 2019	Won

 

Note: Rahul made another fifty (57*) in the second T20I match at Auckland on January 26, 2020, that India won. That makes him the first player to register two 50s in his first two innings as a keeper-batsman in T20I cricket. For the record, the highest score in all T20Is (including those played by associate and affiliate members of the International Cricket Council) is 104* by Serbia’s Leslie Dunbar against Bulgaria at Corfu on October 14, 2019.

5

The number of times an Indian batsman has managed to register three consecutive scores of 50-plus in T20Is. K.L. Rahul in the second T20I against New Zealand at Auckland became the third after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to do so. Since December 11, 2019, Rahul has been in tremendous form, as his scores listed in chronological order will indicate: 91, 45, 54, 56, 57*. Therefore, by missing a 50 by five runs against Sri Lanka at Indore, he missed the opportunity of becoming the first batsman in T20I cricket to hit five successive scores of 50-plus. As of now, only two others have registered four 50-plus scores in consecutive innings: New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum in December 2008-February 2009 and West Indian Chris Gayle in June-September 2012.

Indian batsmen with three consecutive 50s in T20I cricket

Batsman	Period	Scores
Virat Kohli	August 7-September 29, 2012	68, 70, 50
Virat Kohli	April 4-September 7, 2014	72*, 77, 66
Virat Kohli	January 26-31, 2016	90*, 59*, 50
Rohit Sharma	March 14-June 27, 2018	89, 56, 97
K. L. Rahul	January 10-27, 2020	54, 56, 57*

Note: Kohli and Martin Guptill are the only batsmen to register three consecutive 50-plus scores on three separate occasions in T20I cricket.

3

The number of batsmen who managed 90-plus scores against India while captaining a side in T20Is. Kane Williamson’s 95 at Hamilton on January 29, 2020, is now by far the highest by a New Zealand captain in T20I cricket. The previous highest was the 74 by Brendon McCullum against England, also at Hamilton, on February 12, 2013. Meanwhile, Williamson’s 95 is now the third highest by an opponent captain against India in T20Is, but the highest by a captain against India in a chase.

Highest scores by T20I captains against India

Score	Captain	Country	Venue	Date	Innings	Result
124*	Shane Watson	Australia	Sydney	January 31, 2016	First	Lost
98	Chris Gayle	West Indies	Bridgetown	May 9, 2010	First	Won
95	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	Hamilton	January 29, 2020	Second	Lost (super over)
79*	Quinton de Kock	South Africa	Bengaluru	September 22, 2019	Second	Won
78	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	Nagpur	December 9, 2009	First	Won

6

The number of captains who have made 90-plus scores while chasing a target in T20Is. Kane Williamson’s 95 at Hamilton is now the third highest in T20I cricket. Nepal’s Paras Khadka against Singapore has the unique distinction of being the only captain to score a T20I hundred while chasing a target.

90-plus scores by T20I captains

Score	Captain	Country	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
106*	Paras Khadka	Nepal	Singapore	Singapore	September 28, 2019	Won
96*	Pieter Seelaar	The Netherlands	Scotland	Dublin	September 16, 2019	Lost
95	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	India	Hamilton	January 29, 2020	Lost (super over)
94	Virat Kohli	India	West Indies	Hyderabad	December 6, 2019	Won
91	Paul Stirling	Ireland	Afghanistan	Dehradun	February 23, 2019	Lost
90	Steve Smith	Australia	England	Cardiff	August 31, 2015	Lost

2

The number of Indian batsmen who have managed a 50-plus score while batting at No. 6 or below in T20I cricket. In the Wellington T20I, Manish Pandey, with his unbeaten 50, became the second Indian after M. S. Dhoni.

Highest T20I scores by Indian batsmen while batting at No. 6 or below

Score	Batsman	Opponent	Venue	Date	Innings	Result
52*	M. S. Dhoni	South Africa	Centurion	February 21, 2018	First	Lost
50*	Manish Pandey	New Zealand	Wellington	January 31, 2020	First	Won
49	M. S. Dhoni	New Zealand	Rajkot	November 4, 2017	Second	Lost
48*	M. S. Dhoni	Australia	Sydney	February 1, 2012	Second	Lost
45	M. S. Dhoni	South Africa	Durban	September 20, 2007	First	Won
45	Suresh Raina	South Africa	Colombo RPS	October 2, 2012	First	Won

Note: All the above knocks came while batting at No. 6.  

Queries Corner How often has India chased a target in Test matches? What have been the results on these occasions? And what have been the highest and lowest targets set against India by the opposition? – Kirti Bhasin, Ahmedabad. India has so far chased targets on 173 occasions in Test cricket. They have won on 50 occasions, lost 66, tied one and drawn 56. Their highest target faced has been the 607 set by Pakistan at Karachi in 2006. India lost that Test by 341 runs, and their lowest target was the two runs set by Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2010, which India duly won by 10 wickets. How many triple centuries have been scored against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy? Is Sarfaraz Khan the first Mumbai batsman to make one against Uttar Pradesh? – Khalid Amir, Meerut. Sarfaraz Khan became the third opponent batsman to hit a 300-plus score against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy. But he is the first Mumbai batsman to not only score a 300, also but a 200 against Uttar Pradesh. The previous highest was 186 by Ashok Mankad at Mumbai in 1978-79. Highest scores against Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy 337 K. L. Rahul Karnataka Bengaluru 2014-15 327 Kedar Jadhav Maharashtra Pune 2012-13 301* Sarfaraz Khan Mumbai Mumbai 2019-20 288 S. Sriram Tamil Nadu Kanpur 1999-2000 251* Jacob Martin Baroda Ghaziabad 2005-06   Could you please share the top five scores by Bengal batsmen in the Ranji Trophy? – Avik Banerjee, Malda. 323 Devang Gandhi Assam Guwahati 1998-99 303* Manoj Tiwary Hyderabad Kolkata 2019-20 287 Arun Lal Rajasthan Kolkata 1986-87 267 Manoj Tiwary Madhya Pradesh Kolkata 2011-12 260 Shrikant Kalyani Karnataka Kolkata 1990-91

 

Note: All figures above are updated as on January 31, 2020.