Rohit Sharma completes 15 years in T20I cricket: Notable records
On September 19, 2007, Hitman Rohit Sharma arrived in the world of T20I cricket. Rohit, who now leads India, made his T20I debut against England in the 2007 World T20. It was the same encounter wherein Yuvraj Singh smashed 6 sixes in an over of Stuart Broad. Meanwhile, Rohit slammed his maiden T20I half-century a day later, against South Africa. Here are his records.
Why does this story matter?
Rohit is arguably the greatest white-ball batter of the contemporary era. He is one of the sweetest timers of the ball and is widely revered for his flair and technique. The same was visible in his first T20I inning, where his match-winning 50* guided India to the T20 World Cup semis. There has been no looking back for the Mumbaikar ever since.
Most runs in T20I cricket
Rohit is the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals. He has slammed 3,620 runs from 128 innings at an average of 32.32. The 35-year-old has a healthy strike rate of 140.63 in the format. India's Virat Kohli (3,584), New Zealand's Martin Guptill (3,497), and Ireland's Paul Stirling (3,011) are the only other batters to have scored over 3,000 runs in T20I cricket.
Most T20I runs in winning cause
As per ESPNcricinfo, Rohit has tallied 2,859 of his runs in a winning cause, the most by a batter in matches won. Kohli (2,439) and Martin Guptill (2,188) are the only others to have scored over 2,000 T20I runs in a winning cause.
Rohit owns four T20I tons
Rohit holds the record for slamming the most number of centuries in T20I cricket. The last of his four T20I tons came against West Indies in 2018. He slammed an unbeaten 111 (61) in Lucknow. Besides Rohit, only Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell (among batters from Full Members) has more than two tons in T20I cricket (three each).
Joint-fastest T20I ton
In 2017, Rohit smashed the joint-fastest century in T20I cricket. He hammered 118 off 43 balls against Sri Lanka in Indore. Rohit attained this feat a couple of months after South Africa's David Miller smashed a T20I ton off as many balls (vs Bangladesh).
Other records of Rohit in T20I cricket
Rohit has the record for appearing in most T20Is (136). Shoaib Malik (124), Guptill (121), and Mahmudullah (121) are the only other players to have featured in over 120 T20Is. Rohit has a win percentage of 79.48 as captain in T20I cricket. Under him, India have won 31 of 39 matches so far. The Men in Blue have lost eight.
