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Senior Team India batter Virat Kohli returned to form in brilliant fashion during the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE. Having skipped the white-ball tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe following a horror series in England, he returned in a refreshed avatar. Even as the Men in Blue failed to make the final, Kohli’s performance was one of the team’s biggest positives.
The former India captain finished the T20 tournament as the second-leading run-getter. He smashed 276 runs in five matches at a stupendous average of 92 and an excellent strike rate of 147.59. During the event, he also broke his century drought, registering his first three-figure score in over 1000 days.
Buoyed by his showing in the Asia Cup, Kohli will be keen to continue his good form in the home series against Australia as well. The Men in Blue will face the Aussies in three T20Is from September 20 to 25.
The 33-year-old has produced amazing numbers against Australia in the 20-over format.
In this feature, we look at six records held by Kohli in the India-Australia T20Is.
#1 Most runs
Kohli is the leading run-getter in the India-Australia T20Is by some distance. He has featured in 19 of the 23 T20 matches played between the two giants of world cricket. The right-handed batter has smashed 718 runs at a strike rate of 146.23.
No other batter has scored 500 runs in T20I matches between the Men in Blue and the Aussies. Australian captain Aaron Finch is a distant second on the list with 440 runs from 15 matches at an average of 29.33 and a strike rate of 136.22.
Glenn Maxwell completes the top three, having scored 431 runs in 16 matches at an average of 33.15 and a strike rate of 146.59.
#2 Highest score by an Indian batter
Kohli also holds the record for the highest score by an Indian batter against Australia in T20Is. No Team India batter has scored a century against the Aussies in T20Is. Kohli’s unbeaten 90 off 55 balls in Adelaide in January 2016 is the best.
The knock came in the first T20I of the three-match series. Australia won the toss and invited India to bat first. However, the decision did not prove beneficial as Kohli dominated proceedings. The right-handed batter smashed nine fours and two sixes as India posted 188 for three. Australia were held to 151 in response as Jasprit Bumrah claimed three for 23.
Two Australians have scored T20I hundreds against the Men in Blue - Shane Watson (124* off 71 in Sydney, 2016) and Glenn Maxwell (113* off 55 in Bengaluru, 2019).
#3 Highest average by an Indian batter
Kohli also holds the record for the highest average by an Indian batter against the Australians in T20Is. After 19 matches, he averages just under 60 - 59.83 to be precise. Yuvraj is second on the list. He averages 56.60 in 10 matches, having scored 283 runs at a strike rate of 161.71.
Two Aussies are above the Indian duo when it comes to having the best average in the India-Australia T20Is. Ricky Ponting tops the list with an average of 76. He played only one T20I against the Men in Blue, in which he hammered 76 off 53 balls.
Michael Clarke has a career average of 65 in T20Is against India. He played three innings and scored 65 runs, remaining not out on two occasions.
#4 Most half-centuries
Kohli also holds the record for having hammered most half-centuries against the Aussies in T20Is. In 18 innings so far, he has crossed 50 as many as seven times. Apart from his highest of 90*, he scored 85 off 61 in Sydney (2020), 82* off 51 in (Mohali - 2016 T20 World Cup) and 72* off 38 in Bengaluru (2019).
For Australia, Maxwell and Watson have hit one hundred and two fifties against India in T20Is, while keeper-batter Matthew Wade is a surprise entry in the list with three half-centuries in seven innings.
#5 Most sixes for India
Kohli has smashed the highest number of maximums by an Indian batter against Australia in the T20 format. In 19 matches, he has slammed an impressive 22 sixes.
Only Maxwell (28) has clobbered more sixes than the former India captain in the India-Australia T20Is. Watson is third on the list with 20, while Yuvraj (19) and Rohit Sharma (15) complete the top five list.
#6 Most runs in a bilateral series
Another significant record currently held by Kohli is that of most runs scored by a player in a bilateral series between the two nations. The 33-year-old scored 199 runs in three games during Team India’s tour of Australia in 2015-16, averaging 199 at a strike rate of 160.48.
The No. 3 batter was dismissed only once during the series and crossed the half-century mark in all three matches. He scored an unbeaten 90 in the first T20I, and followed it up with 59* and 50 in the next two matches.
Maxwell holds the record for having scored the most number of runs by an Aussie in a T20I series between India and Australia. The “Big Show” clubbed 169 runs in two matches during Australia’s tour of India in 2018-19.
Also Read: IND vs AUS 2022: 3 memorable encounters between Team India and Australia in T20Is
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