Rohit Sharma becomes first Indian to play 400 T20s: Stats
Rohit Sharma has become the first Indian cricketer to feature in 400 T20s. He marks his 400th appearance while leading Team India in the second T20I against South Africa on Sunday. The talented Mumbaikar debuted in 20-overs cricket during an Inter State Twenty-20 match against Baroda in April 2007. There has been looking back for him ever since. We decode his stats.
Why does this story matter?
Rohit is one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of the contemporary era. He is one of the sweetest timers of the ball, widely revered for his flair and technique. He is also an exceptional captain, having led Mumbai Indians to five titles in IPL. Rohit, who has successive bilateral T20I series win in his kitty, will look to extend the tally over SA.
Rohit to mark his 400th T20 appearance
Among Indian cricketers, Rohit (400) leads by a hefty margin over second-placed Virat Kohli, who features in his 354th fixture. Overall, Rohit has the ninth-most appearances in the history of T20 cricket. As per ESPNcricinfo, he ranks behind Kieron Pollard (614), Dwayne Bravo (556), Shoaib Malik (481), Chris Gayle (463), Sunil Narine (435), Ravi Bopara (429), Andre Russell (428), and David Miller (402).
Decoding Rohit's T20 numbers
Rohit's 37-ball 43 in the second T20I against SA saw him race to 10,587 runs in 400 T20s. He averages 31.32 and has struck at a healthy rate of 133.96. He has slammed six hundreds and 71 fifties, with the best score of 118 versus Sri Lanka. He is India's second-highest run-getter in T20s, ranking behind Kohli.
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) have more than two tons in T20I cricket (three each).
Rohit unlocks this feat as captain
Rohit has become the first Indian skipper to complete 500 T20I runs in a calendar year. Meanwhile, Kohli holds the most runs under his belt in both ODIs (1,460) and Tests (1,322) in this regard.
Rohit slams these records
Rohit fetched a 96-run stand for the opening wicket alongside KL Rahul. As per Cricbuzz, the Run Machine now has 15 fifty and above partnerships with Rahul. It's the most by any duo in T20I cricket, bettering Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan (14). Rohit has also surpassed 1,800 (1,809) partnership runs with Rahul, surpassing the 1,743-run tally between him and Shikhar Dhawan.
