ENG vs IND: Rohit Sharma becomes first T20I captain to register 13 consecutive wins

India completely outplayed England in the first T20I on Thursday. The visitors claimed an emphatic 50-run victory at Southampton, which helped skipper Rohit Sharma set a new record. The Indian batter became the first T20I captain to register 13 consecutive wins, starting with a 30-run victory over Bangladesh in 2019.

Rohit Sharma took over as the full-time T20I captain in November 2021. Although the Men in Blue have faced a couple of hiccups along the way, the T20I record under Rohit Sharma’s reign has been perfect. 

On Thursday, all-rounder Hardik Pandya put on a brilliant show with both the bat and ball. The 28-year-old scored his first T20I half-century and was unplayable with the ball in hand. He ended with four wickets for 33 runs in his four-over spell. India posted a first-innings total of 198 runs on the board, with handy knocks from Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda. 

England were never in the chase, losing a string of early wickets. First, newly-appointed skipper Jos Buttler was dismissed for a golden duck, and then Liam Livingstone was sent back to the pavilion without scoring.

Rohit Sharma will look to extend his record of consecutive wins as a T20I captain when the two sides face again on Saturday. The 35-year-old’s first success as a full-time T20I captain came in the form of a whitewash over New Zealand last year. After that, the dominance continued against West Indies and Sri Lanka at home, with England being Rohit’s first overseas test as a T20I skipper. 

Team India will have a couple of reinforcements for the second T20I. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will all return for the remainder of the tour after being rested for the first T20I.