Rohit Sharma becomes leading run-scorer in T20I, surpasses Martin Guptill

New Delhi, Feb 8: Rohit Sharma has been in prolific form in the limited-overs format in the last couple of years. The Mumbaikar - who is the only cricketer to have slammed four tons in the T20Is - has claimed another record to his name during the second T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland on Friday (February 8).

The destructive India opener became the leading run-scorer in the shortest format of the game as he surpassed New Zealand opener, Martin Guptill. Guptill has amassed 2272 runs from 76 T20Is at a strike rate of 132.71.

Rohit surpassed the Kiwi batsman in his 92nd T20I encounter and now stands at the top of the table with 2288 runs to his name. The right-handed batsman's strike rate (138.41) is better than Guptill. Interestingly, Guptill became the highest run-scorer in the T20Is at the same venue last year. Coming into the match, Rohit needed just 35 runs to surpass Guptill (2272 runs). Rohit also went past Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik (2263), who is third in the list.

India captain Virat Kohli (2167 runs) is placed fourth in the chart ahead of former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Brendon McCullum (2140).

To highlight the 31-year-old cricketer's dominance in the T20Is, he now has most runs, most centuries (4), most fifty-plus scores (20) and second most number of sixes (102) in the format. Rohit averages 32.43 in the T20Is.

Rohit Sharma in T20Is:

2288 runs - most
4 centuries - most
20 50+ scores - most
102 sixes - second-highest#NZvInd

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) February 8, 2019

Rohit also completed 100 sixes in the T20Is in the second T20I against New Zealand to join the likes of Guptill (103) and Chris Gayle (103).

Most international sixes since 1-1-2016
202 - Rohit Sharma
110 - Martin Guptill
104 - Colin Munro
90 - Aaron Finch
89 - Ben Stokes
85 - Jos Buttler
81 - Virat Kohli/Eoin Morgan#NZvInd

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 8, 2019

The right-handed batsman has also leapfrogged MS Dhoni in hitting sixes in international cricket. Dhoni has smashed 348 maximums while Rohit now has 349 sixes to his name in the international format. The list is topped by Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi with 476 maximums in international cricket. Only Brendon McCullum (398) and Sanath Jayasuriya (352) are ahead of Rohit in this list.

Most international sixes since 1-1-2016
202 - Rohit Sharma
110 - Martin Guptill
104 - Colin Munro
90 - Aaron Finch
89 - Ben Stokes
85 - Jos Buttler
81 - Virat Kohli/Eoin Morgan#NZvInd

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) February 8, 2019

Meanwhile, riding on the half-century from the captain, India defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets and levelled the series 1-1.