India’s 5 Best T20I Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era

India’s 5 Best T20I Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era. The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri partnership came to an end after India’s last Super-12 stage match against Namibia. India won that game comfortably but sadly they won’t progress further into the tournament.

The match against Namibia marked the end of Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s head coach. The former Indian cricketer would no longer be part of the Indian dressing room as he makes way for Rahul Dravid. Also, Virat Kohli would no longer be captaining India’s T20 team.

During the nearly seven-year-long partnership between Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, India defeated big teams in their own backyards. They made winning a habit, irrespective of what the format is. Here’s a look back at India’s five best T20 series wins during the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era.

India’s 5 Best T20I Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era

India tour of South Africa, 2017-18

India’s penchant for winning series overseas perhaps began with the tour to South Africa in 2017. The Men in Blue were defeated in Test Series but followed it with two consecutive series wins in ODIs and T20 internationals. India exhibited sensational performances in the three-match T20 series. Suresh Raina, in particular, was outstanding with the bat.

His 27-ball 43 helped India take 1-0 lead in the series. South Africa fought back with a six-wicket win in the second game. But Raina, once again, was brilliant in the series decider final T20I. He scored 43 runs off 27 balls to guide his team to 172 in the first innings. South Africa managed to score 165 runs in reply and thus fell 7 runs short of the target. India won the T20 series by a margin of 2-1.

India tour of England, 2018

India’s T20 series win against England in 2018 was their sixth consecutive series win in T20 internationals. They were ruling the game during that time. KL Rahul smashed a 54-ball century to help India chase down a 159-run total and take 1-0 lead in the series. England bounced back brilliantly as they won the second game by 5 wickets.

However, it was Rohit Sharma, who denied England of winning the series. He put on an exhibition of master-class batting in the series decider. Despite posting a mammoth 198-run total in the first innings, England lost the game. Rohit Sharma scored a 56-ball century to help his team chase down the score in 18.4 overs. Virat Kohli (43 off 29) and Hardik Pandya (33 off 14) also made valuable contributions.

India’s tour of Australia, 2020-21

India’s tour of Australia in 2020-21 was indeed memorable. They lost the ODI series by 2-1 margin but went on to win register back-to-back series wins in T20Is and Tests.

India were under the pump after losing the ODI series. They needed to start brilliantly to have an upper hand in the T20 series. Significant contributions from KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja with the bat and a collective bowling effort from the team helped India register an 11-run win over the hosts.

Australia batted brilliantly in the second T20I, scoring 194 runs in the first innings. However, India believed in itself and went hard in the run-chase. Valuable contributions from KL Rahul (30 off 22), Shikhar Dhawan (52 off 36), Virat Kohli (40 off 24), and Hardik Padnya (42 off 22) helped India chase down the score in 19.4 overs. India lost the third match but take the series 2-1.

India tour of New Zealand, 2020

The Virat Kohli-led unit clean- swept New Zealand by a margin of 5-0 in the T20 series in 2020. The Indian team were sensational all the games. Every time New Zealand put them in trouble, India fought hard and came back brilliantly.

KL Rahul was adjudged as the Player of the series for his exceptional performances. In 5 matches, he scored 224 runs at an average of 56.00. Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur were the standout bowlers, picking 6 and 8 wickets respectively.

India tour of West Indies in 2019

The Indian Cricket Team during the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era also defeated West Indies in their own backyard in a T20 series in 2019. India bundled out West Indies for just 95 runs in the first T20 international and chased it down in 17.2 overs.

The second game saw India amassing 167 runs in the first innings. India won that game by 22 runs via the DLS method. Riding on Pollard’s 45-ball 58, West Indies scored 146 runs against India in the third match. India chased it down pretty comfortably in 19.1 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten 42-ball 65 from Rishabh Pant.

Virat Kohli was the highest run-scorer for India in the series, scoring 115 runs at 57.50. Navdeep Saini starred with the ball, picking 5 wickets in 3 matches at 15.60.