India is among the top T20I teams in the world. The Indian cricket team won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, which happened in the year 2007. Since then, the Men in Blue have been quite dominant in this format of the game.
One of the main reasons behind India’s dominance is the fact that the team’s batters have performed well consistently in different parts of the world. 50 is considered a decent milestone in T20I cricket. However, in the long history of Indian cricket, there have been some instances of Indian batters remaining not out on 49*. Here’s a list of four such instances.
1. Tilak Varma remained not out on 49* in yesterday’s T20I match
Tilak Varma was not out on 49* when the Indian team won the match against West Indies yesterday in Guyana. Captain Hardik Pandya smashed a six when the Men in Blue needed two runs for the win in the run-chase.
“Hardik comes to bat, tells him it’s important to remain not out, don’t get carried away. Then Hardik hits aggressive hits… you don’t need NRR, it would’ve made no difference. He told Tilak to go easy, but tried to hit big shots himself. You needed 2 runs off 13 balls, and he smashed a six,” Aakash Chopra described the incident on his YouTube channel.
2. Virat Kohli remained not out on 49* in a T20I against South Africa last year
South Africa visited India for a series last year before the T20 World Cup. During the second match of the series, Virat Kohli was not out on 49 when the Indian innings ended.
3. Suresh Raina
During the third T20I of the India vs Australia series in 2016, Suresh Raina was not out on 49 when the Indian team chased down 200 runs. Raina hit a four on the last ball for the win.
4. Gautam Gambhir
The first Indian to achieve this feat was Gautam Gambhir. The left-handed batter was batting on 49 when the one-off match between India and South Africa in 2012 was called off due to rain.
