T20 World Cup 2022: Virat Kohli became the leading run-scorer in men’s T20 World Cups as the former India captain went past Mahela Jayawardene’s tally of 1016 runs. Shane Watson and Ravi Shastri weighed in on the milestone.

Virat Kohli has been in sensational form in T20 World Cup 2022 (AP Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Former captain Virat Kohli has dispelled all doubts over his T20 prowess by starting his T20 World Cup 2022 campaign on a high, hitting two half-centuries in three matches so far. Kohli went past 1000 runs in T20 World Cups, becoming only the 2nd batter after Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene to do so in the premier T20 tournament.

Virat Kohli on Wednesday went past Jayawardene to become the leading run-getter in men’s T20 World Cups as the star batter got off to a brisk start in India’s Super 12 match against Bangladesh in Adelaide. Kohli went past the former Sri Lanka captain’s tally of 1016 runs, getting to the landmark in 6 fewer matches.

Kohli averages a staggering 84.66 in T20 World Cups. He has hit 12 fifties in the premier T20 tournament but is yet to go past the 3-figure score. Notably, India captain Rohit Sharma is not far behind as he has scored 921 runs in 37 matches.

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said he was just not able to wrap his head around Virat Kohli’s numbers in T20 World Cups saying, that an average of 80-plus in a high-risk format is just “ridiculous”.

“Over 1000 runs in T20 World Cups at an average of over 80, I am not able to get my head around this. T20 cricket is a high-risk game, high-risk batting and to think that he can do it at the biggest tournament, averaging so much and winning so many games for his country… he is a freak and those statistics are super freakish. It’s incredible that you can bat in such a high-risk format and score consistently. It’s ridiculous,” Shane Watson told Star Sports.

LIKE SACHIN, LIKE VIRAT

Notably, Virat Kohli also emulated Sachin Tendulkar as the batting great leads the batting charts in 50-over World Cups with 2278 runs in 45 matches.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying the former captain is a big match player and it’s no surprise that he has stepped up in big tournaments like Sachin Tendulkar.

“It means big (milestone). this is the biggest tournament of all. Like all great players, the switch-on button gets pressed. Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, they have done that in their careers,” Shastri said.