Since making his international debut in March 2021 against England, India batter Suryakumar Yadav has been a man on a mission, especially in T20I cricket. Suryakumar, who is currently the top ranked batter in the format, was named ICC men's T20I cricketer of the year 2022 earlier this week. In the first T20I between India and New Zealand on Friday, Suryakumar made a big jump in the T20I run-getters' list with his 34-ball 47. He surpassed exbatter Suresh Raina and legendary captain MS Dhoni in the list to become the fifth-highest run scorer for India in the format.
Suryakumar has 1,625 runs in 44 innings so far, averaging just over 46. On the other hand, Dhoni had finished his T20I career with 1,617 runs in 98 matches while Raina had 1,605 runs in 78 games.
Leading scorers for India in T20Is
Virat Kohli - 4,008
Rohit Sharma - 3,853
KL Rahul - 2,265
Shikhar Dhawan - 1,759
Suryakumar Yadav - 1,625
In the first T20I, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell hit quickfire fifties to set up a convincing 21-run victory for New Zealand.
Conway made 52 off 35 balls and Mitchell smashed an unbeaten 59 as the Kiwis posted 176-6 after being invited to bat first in Ranchi.
New Zealand, who suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the one-day internationals, restricted the hosts to 155-9 and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Mitchell Santner, who is New Zealand's designated captain for the series, stood out with figures of 2-11 with his left-arm spin while fellow spinner Michael Bracewell and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson also took two wickets each.
(With AFP Inputs)