HYDERABAD: After reaching the mark of 1000 runs in T20I cricket, opening batsman KL Rahul joked with teammate Yuzvendra Chahal, saying now he is 999 runs ahead of him in the run-scoring charts in the shortest format.
Rahul went on to play a knock 62 runs against West Indies and as a result, he became just the seventh Indian batsman to go past 1000-run mark in T20Is. He also became the third-fastest batsman in the world to achieve the feat as he brought up 1000 runs in just his 29th innings.
During the chat, Chahal asked Rahul: "Now that you have reached 1000 runs, do you know how many runs you are ahead of me in the run-scoring chart in T20Is?
To this, Rahul joked "I am 999 runs ahead of you".
During the chat, Rahul also revealed that getting boundaries at the beginning of his innings gave him confidence and he carried that forward to put up a 100-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli.
"We saw in the first innings that when the batsmen were set on the wicket, it got easier to score runs. This wicket was a bit weird, it was not the flattest wicket that I played on but still, both teams managed to score 200 plus so I cannot complain about the wicket," Rahul told Chahal on his talk-show 'Chahal TV'.
"Initially, I got two-three boundaries in the second over of our innings and that gave me confidence. But unfortunately, Rohit got out a bit early, then Virat came in and it was important to form a partnership. Luckily, Virat stayed till the end and it all paid dividend," he added.
Kohli played a match-winning knock of 94 runs in the first T20I against West Indies and he managed to stay till the end to guide his side home.
India and West Indies will next lock horns in the second T20I on Sunday, December 8.