Virat Kohli bid adieu to T20 International on a high with the massive tag of World Champion as he played a crucial knock in the final of the T20 World Cup. Kohli added another glorious chapter to his rich T20I legacy and turned up big in the final despite an underwhelming tournament before that. The batting maestro held his ground strong when India were in a tricky position and scored a gritty 76-run knock to help them post a challenging 177/6 on the scoreboard. Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is during his speech after winning the Player of the Match award in the final.
Interestingly, the Indian maestro finished his T20I career with a higher ICC all-rounder ranking over his teammate Ravindra Jadeja, who also announced his retirement from the shortest format after the final. In the latest rankings released by ICC, Kohli was placed at the 79th spot with 49 ratings, while Jadeja finished at 86th with 45 points.
Kohli played the majority of his career as a specialist batter, and in the last decade, he bowled just 2.4 overs and claimed one wicket. In his glorious 125-match T20I career, he picked just wickets. On the other side, Jadeja, who played 74 T20Is, played as an all-rounder throughout his career and finished with 54 scalps in his kitty.
Hardik Pandya crowned No. 1 T20I all-rounder
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya scripted history and became the first Indian to become the number one all-rounder in the ICC T20I rankings. The star all-rounder played a pivotal role in India’s T20 WC triumph and performed consistently well throughout the tournament to rise two places in the rankings to occupy the top spot. Following a topsy-turvy IPL where he was the target of fans’ boos as Mumbai Indians’ new captain, Pandya turned it around in style in the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean.
The 30-year-old, who handed telling blows to South Africa in the T20 World Cup final on July 29 by dismissing half-centurion Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in his 3/20 effort, climbed up two places to go level with Sri Lankan star Wanindu Hasaranga as the top-ranked men’s T20I all-rounder.