Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma break decade-long T20 record involving Virender Sehwag

The 158 runs added by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday is the highest partnership for India for any wicket in T20 internationals.

Rohit Sharma (left) and Shikhar Dhawan during a training session of Team India

New Delhi: India's first T20I win over New Zealand in Ashish Nehra's farewell match here brought about many other records, among which was a decade-long record that until Wednesday stood in the name of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, until Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan decided to rewrite it. 

In India's facile 53-run win, the opening pair of Rohit and Dhawan stitched together a mammoth 158 runs, which laid the foundation for India's big total of 202/3. Both were dismissed at the identical score of 80.

But the partnership was enough to eclipse a 10-year record, overtaking India's previous highest opening partnership of 136 between Gambhir and Sehwag against England during the inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007, which India won. 

Not only that, it was the highest partnership for India for any wicket in T20 internationals, breaking the previous record in the name of Rohit and Virat Kohli 

Here are the stats from the match at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground: 

- Having lost the previous five matches to New Zealand, India recorded their first win against them in six matches in T20Is - winning percentage 16.66.

- With their aforesaid win, India have recorded wins against every full member team in T20Is.

- Rohit and Dhawan had played 98 balls during their aforesaid partnership - the highest by any pair and the second highest for any wicket next only to the 99 balls faced by Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara during their stand of 166 for the second wicket for Sri Lanka vs West Indies at Bridgetown on May 7, 2010.

- Rohit Sharma (80) and Shikhar Dhawan (80) have recorded 75-plus - the third instance when both the openers have accomplished the feat in the same innings in T20Is - the first two were South Africa's Graeme Smith (88) and Loots Bosman (94) vs England at Centurion on November 15, 2009 and West Indian Johnson Charles (79) and Evin Lewis (100) vs India at Lauderhill on August 27, 2016.

- Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were involved in a stand of 158 for the first wicket - India's highest partnership for any wicket in Twenty20 Internationals, eclipsing the 138 for the second wicket between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma vs South Africa at Dharamsala on October 2, 2015.

- India's previous highest opening stand in T20Is was 136 between Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag vs England at Durban on September 19, 2007.

- India's 53-run triumph is their sixth biggest in terms of runs in T20Is - their largest being 90 runs vs England at Colombo (RPS) on September 23, 2012.

- India's score of 202/3 is their highest vs New Zealand in T20Is, eclipsing the 180/9 at Johannesburg on September 16, 2007.

- In all, India have recorded seven scores of 200 or more in T20Is. The list includes four such totals in India.

- Shikhar Dhawan (80) has posted his career-best score in T20Is, surpassing the 60 vs Bangladesh at Dhaka on March 6, 2016. His only other fifty in this format is 51 vs Sri Lanka at Ranchi on February 12, 2016.

- Dhawan's first Man-of-the-Match award vs New Zealand is his third in T20Is.

- Rohit's 80 off 55 balls is his third highest score in T20Is - the top two being 106 off 66 balls vs South Africa at Dharamsala on October 2, 2015, and 83 off 55 balls vs Bangladesh at Dhaka on February 24, 2016.

- Rohit has become the second Indian batsman to complete 1,000 runs in a winning cause in T20Is - his tally being 1010 at 37.40, including ten fifties, in 41 matches. Virat Kohli has amassed 1322 runs at an average of 69.57 in 34 matches, including 13 fifties, in a winning cause.

- Both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, with 80 each, jointly hold an Indian record for the highest individual innings vs New Zealand in T20Is.

- Overall, the 158-run stand is the third highest opening partnership in T20Is - the highest being 171 (unbroken) between Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson for New Zealand vs Pakistan at Hamilton on January 17, 2016.

- The aforesaid stand is the highest by any pair for any wicket vs New Zealand in T20Is, eclipsing the 143 (unbroken) for the first wicket between Michael Lumb and Alex Hales for England at Wellington on February 15, 2013.

- Rohit Sharma took his sixes' tally to 268 in 257 matches, establishing an Indian record in Twenty20, overtaking Suresh Raina's tally of 265 in 259 matches.

- Chahal's bowling record is excellent in T20Is, capturing 17 wickets in ten matches at an average of 17.35, including a five-wicket haul - 6/25 vs England at Bengaluru on February 1, 2017.

- For the first time, New Zealand could not get a wicket of their opponent in the first ten overs while bowling first in T20Is

- Trent Boult (4-0-49-1) has conceded most runs in his four-over spell in T20Is.

(Stats by: PTI)