India vs West Indies: Virat Kohli equals Rohit Sharma with most 50-plus scores in T20Is

Kolkata, February 18: India star batsman Virat Kohli on Friday (February 18) sent a strong message with his batting exploits in the second Twenty20 International against West Indies here at Eden Gardens.

The explosive cricketer from India slammed a sublime half-century in the game and played an entertaining knock at the iconic stadium. The batting maestro from India hit in-form West Indies spinner Roston Chase over long-on for a maximum to bring up his fifty. Kohli took just 39 deliveries to notch up a well-deserved half-century but didn't last long as he was clean bowled by the Chase in that very over while trying to up the ante.

Kohli (52 off 41 balls) was looking set and in ominous touch, from the moment he walked into the middle and played shots all-round the park and kept entertaining the small crowd at Eden Gardens.

His knock was laced with seven boundaries and a six before getting dismissed. One of the finest white-ball batters of all time, Kohli went off the mark with a classical boundary and never looked back ever since. It seemed as if he was batting on a different surface altogether.

Kohli, meanwhile, equalled fellow India teammate Rohit Sharma's record for scoring most fifty-plus totals in the shortest version of the game. Both Kohli and Rohit now have 30 innings in excess of 50-plus in T20Is.

During the T20I series against New Zealand at home last year, Rohit Sharma had surpassed Kohli to become the batsman with the most 50-plus totals. Rohit has four T20I centuries and 26 fifties in the shortest format in international cricket.

Kohli, on the other hand, hasn't yet slammed a ton in the T20Is and fans eagerly wait for his maiden century. The right-handed batsman from Delhi has, however, slammed five centuries in the T20s. Four of his centuries in T20 came in IPL 2016 for Royal Challengers Bangalore.