Virat Kohli clinches special record as India captain in 2nd T20I vs England

Virat Kohli added yet another feature to his cap as he became only the third captain to score 12,000 runs, across formats, in international cricket on Sunday.

Kohli achieved the landmark during India's seven-wicket win over England in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

After being put to bat first, England managed to put up 164 for 6 in 20 overs. In reply to that, the hosts had a poor start as they lost KL Rahul on the final ball of their first over. That brought Kohli to the crease at 1 for 1. Kohli shared a crucial 94-run stand with debutant Ishan Kishan for the second wicket and that stand brought India's chase back on track.

En route his unbeaten 73 off 49 balls, Kohli also completed 3,000 runs in the T20Is, becoming the first male cricketer to the landmark. Overall, the Indian skipper was the third cricketer to score 3,000 or more runs in the T20Is after New Zealand's Suzie Bates and West Indies' Stefanie Taylor.

Kohli struck five fours and three sixes in his knock that also saw him clinch another record in international cricket. In the 15 T20Is India and England had played against each other before the second T20I in Ahmedabad on Sunday, an Indian captain had never scored a half-century against these opponents in the shortest format, making Kohli the first Indian skipper to the feat.

Before this game, Kohli had played 13 T20Is against England, with only one fifty that came back in 2014. Under MS Dhoni, India had played England in the one-off T20I in Birmingham during the 2014 tour, where Kohli had scored a 41-ball 66, while captain Dhoni had managed an unbeaten 27 off 18. India had lost the game by three runs.

Kohli was coming off two successive international ducks ahead of Sunday's game. But he silenced the critics by scoring an excellent match-winning performance, which also saw him register his 26th half-century in the T20Is for India.

"I had to shift the focus back to the basics of the game. I was probably thinking of too many other variables. I have always taken pride in doing the job for the team, so I am happier about that rather than the 70-odd.

The management spoke to me about things, Anushka Sharma is here with me and she speaks to me about a lot of things. When you have your family with you, they keep talking to you, keep you focused on what you need to do right. The team management is good. Then I had a special chat with AB de Villiers before the game. He told me 'just watch the ball'. That's exactly what I did," Kohli said in a post-match interview on Sunday.

The five-match T20I series between India and England is currently levelled at 1-1, with the third game scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Ahmedabad.