Virat Kohli
File photo of Virat Kohli.IANS

Indian captain Virat Kohli has had a wonderful year both on and off the field in 2017.

The 29-year-old reigned supreme in ODIs, hitting a record 1,460 runs, including six centuries at 76.84. In the longest format of the game, the Delhi batsman amassed 1,059 runs, which includes three double tons.

Despite India playing only 12 T20Is, the world number one batsman, with 299 runs from 10 matches, has managed to find himself a spot in the top five of the run-scorers list in 2017.

He also holds the record for most number of runs in T20Is by an Indian batsman in the ongoing year. However, in-form India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have opportunities to break Kohli's record and occupy the top spot the Indian list as the hosts take on Sri Lanka in the final match of the T20I series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, December 24.

Also read: 3rd T20I -- Chance for captain Rohit Sharma to match MS Dhoni's rare record

Kohli, who had topped the charts with 641 runs last year, was rested from both the ODI and the T20I series. The Indian captain tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma during the break in Italy.

Rahul favourite to break surpass Kohli on Sunday

KL Rahul
Rahul hit 89 off just 49 balls in the second T20I on FridayIANS

Rahul is just 24 runs behind Kohli's tally of 299. Having already hit two back-to-back half centuries in the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka, the Karnataka batsman has a good chance to dethrone Kohli and finish the year on a high.

Notably, Rahul, along with Test specialist R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, have missed out from the 17-man squad for the upcoming ODI series in South Africa, starting February 1.

However, in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, who has been rested for the ongoing series, Rahul has grabbed his opportunities with both hands and has put himself in contention for a limited-overs recall.

Can captain Rohit do it again on Sunday?

On the other hand, captain Rohit, who hit the joint-fastest T20I century (35 balls) to help India clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series on Friday, has hit 256 runs from just eight matches. He thus needs 44 runs to surpass Kohli.

Rohit Sharma
Rohit hit his second T20I century on FridayIANS

Wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni, who has played a couple of crucial knocks in the ongoing T20I rubber, is at a distant fourth with 236 runs from 12 matches.

Top five run-scorers (India) in T20Is in 2017 [As on December 23]

Player Name Matches Runs Strike Rate
Virat Kohli 10 299 152.55
KL Rahul 6 274 145.50
Rohit Sharma 8 256 176.55
MS Dhoni 12 236 137.20
Manish Pandey 8 140 134.61