Rohit goes past Kohli to become India's second-most successful T20I captain, only behind legend Dhoni

Rohit Sharma's Team India beat Hong Kong by 40 runs in their second match at the Asia Cup 2022 edition, on Wednesday (August 31), at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. Being asked to bat first, Rohit & Co. rode on Suryakumar Yadav's 26-ball 68 not out and Virat Kohli's 59, off 44 balls, to post a mammoth 192-2. In reply, India restricted Hong Kong to 152-5 in 20 overs, winning by 40 runs to book a spot in the Super Four round. 

With another win up his sleeves as the T20I captain, Rohit has now gone past his predecessor Virat to become the second-most successful skipper in the shortest format for the Men in Blue. The list is topped by legendary captain MS Dhoni, who attained 41 wins from 72 matches. Virat ended his T20I captaincy tenure, from early 2017 to late 2021, with 30 victories from 50 games. Rohit, on the other hand, attained his 31st victory as captain in just 37 encounters after the end of proceedings between India-Hong Kong on Wednesday evening.

Rohit took over as the full-time T20I captain post Virat's exit following the disastrous run in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Since then, Rohit has led India to home series wins versus New Zealand, West Indies and away victories over England and West Indies. He will now aim to clinch the Asia Cup trophy before the action shifts to the 2022 T20 World Cup. 

ALSO READ | WATCH: Ravindra Jadeja's bullet throw sends Hong Kong's captain Nizakat Khan packing in Asia Cup encounter

After the match, Rohit said at the post-match presentation, "We batted pretty well to start with, got to a very good score. Came out and bowled reasonably well, we could have done slightly better with the ball. (SKY) The kind of innings he played today, the words will be short. We have seen that with him every now and then. He comes up with suck kinds of knocks. He just comes out and bats fearlessly which is what the team expects from him. Some of the shots he played today, those are not written anywhere in the book. It was very pleasing to watch. Shot selection was also crucial. We know he can play all around the park. We have also informed the group about this (flexibility in the batting order) as well. Most of the guys are ready to take the opportunity and be ready to bat wherever required. That's the flexibility we need. We'll take those chances. We are going to try and use the right match-ups."