T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene congratulates Virat Kohli for breaking his record
Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene has congratulated India batter Virat Kohli for breaking his record of scoring the most runs in T20 World Cups. Kohli scored an unbeaten 64 off 44 balls to guide India to a 5-run win over Bangladesh in the Super-12 stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Kohli surpassed Jayawardene’s record of 1016 runs in T20 World Cups, which was set in 2014. Interestingly, with this knock, Kohli also became the highest scoring Indian in Australia, overtaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 3300 runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a video on social media where Jayawardene delivered a congratulatory message to Kohli, saying records are meant to be broken.
“Records are meant to be broken. Someone was always going to break my record, and it’s you, Virat. Brilliant mate, congratulations. You’ve always been a warrior. Form is temporary but class is permanent. Well done, buddy,” said Jayawardene on Instagram.
Coming to the crease at 11/1, Kohli struck a 67-run partnership with KL Rahul to steer India out of a tricky situation. The two batters scored at a healthy rate, before KL Rahul was dismissed by Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan. Kohli then stitched a quick partnership with Suryakumar Yadav before Shakib cleaned him up. Even though wickets kept falling around him, Kohli held his end and propelled India to a total of 184/6 in 20 overs.
Kohli has been in magnificent touch in this T20 World Cup, scoring three half-centuries in four matches. The 33-year-old started the T20 World Cup with a heroic innings of 82 runs off 53 balls against Pakistan to win the game for India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He then went on to remain unbeaten at 62 off 44 balls against the Netherlands in Sydney.
This knock also takes Kohli to the top of the scoring charts in this T20 World Cup. The former India captain is already the highest scorer in T20Is, ahead of Rohit Sharma in second place.
