India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma breaks MS Dhoni’s record for most T20I wins by India captain in a year

Rohit Sharma has surpassed MS Dhoni’s record for most wins by an India captain in the shortest format of the game in a year.

Rohit achieved the feat after India defeated South Africa by eight wickets in the opening T20I in Thiruvananthapuram. With the win, Rohit now has 16 wins as India captain in 2022. Former skipper MS Dhoni had registered 15 wins in 2016.

Arshdeep Singh set the tone of the match between India and South Africa as he took three wickets in the second over to leave the South African dugout shocked. The left-arm fast bowler removed Quinton de Kock (1), and Rilee Rossouw and David Miller for golden ducks.

Deepak Chahar joined the party, reducing South Africa to 9/5 after 2.3 overs. Aiden Markram and Wayne Parnell fought back but their effort didn’t last long as Harshal Patel trapped Markram in front for 25 and Axar Patel sent Parnell packing for 24.

Towards the end, Keshav Maharaj fighting knock of 41 off 35 lifted South Africa to 106/8. In reply, India lost big guns Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early on. While Rohit was caught behind for a two-ball duck, Kohli walked back after contributing only three runs.

KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav (50* off 33) stood tall on a surface where the seamers were always in. Both went on to hit a fifty each, with Rahul (50* off 56 balls) scoring the slowest half-century for India in T20Is, to take India home.

“When you play a game like that you learn a lot. It was nice to play a game like that,” Rohit said after the match. “Both teams were in the contest. We got wickets upfront, and that was the turning point. No matter what the conditions, you still have to execute your plans.”