Rohit Sharma completes 15 years in international cricket: Interesting stats
On June 23, 2007, Rohit Sharma arrived in the world of international cricket. The stylish cricketer debuted in an ODI against Ireland which India won by nine wickets. Since then, Rohit has risen as one of the all-time greats in the gentleman's game. His records and achievements are a testimony to the same. We decode his interesting stats from the international arena.
Second-most ODI runs since his debut
As stated, Rohit made his ODI debut in June 2007 in a match against Ireland in Belfast. To date, the 35-year-old has smashed 9,283 runs at a remarkable average of 48.60. He has the second-most runs in the format since his debut. Rohit is only behind his compatriot Virat Kohli, who has slammed a record 12,311 runs in this period.
Why does this story matter?
Rohit is arguably the most talented batter in the modern era. He is one of the sweetest timers of the ball and is widely revered for his flair and technique. The journey wasn't smooth at first for Rohit, given he had his ups and downs in form. However, his perseverance eventually paid off. Since 2013, there has been no looking back for the Mumbaikar.
Most runs in winning cause (T20Is)
Rohit is the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals. He has scored 3,313 runs at 32.48. As per ESPNcricinfo, Rohit has tallied 2,663 of these runs in a winning cause, the most by a batter in matches won. India's Kohli (2,222) and New Zealand's Martin Guptill (2,005) are the only others to have scored over 2,000 T20I runs in a winning cause.
Joint-second-most international tons by an Indian opener
In February 2021, Rohit surpassed Little Master Sunil Gavaskar in terms of international centuries by an Indian opener. The former owns the joint-second-most centuries across formats by an Indian opener with Virender Sehwag (36). The duo is only behind Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on this list, who has the most centuries by an opener in international cricket (45).
Rohit has a distinct feat to his name
Rohit is the only cricketer to score three ODI double hundreds, with his personal best being 264. His 264 against Sri Lanka is also the highest individual score in the history of ODIs. Rohit also amassed 209 against Australia in 2013 and an unbeaten 208* against Lanka in 2017. He also has four T20I tons, most by any player in this format.
Some lesser known records of Rohit
Rohit was the first Indian to have scored a ton in T20 cricket. He achieved the feat for Mumbai against Gujarat in the 2006-07 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 competition. Rohit holds the record of being only the second Indian to score a ton in the ICC World Cup knockout stage for India after Sourav Ganguly.
Other notable records of Rohit
As per ESPNcricinfo, Rohit is the only Indian batter with 200 sixes in international cricket at home (225). He is also the first Indian to score each of his first seven Test hundreds at home. Furthermore, Rohit is the only player in world cricket to have slammed centuries across formats against four teams (SL, WI, SA, and ENG).
