Rohit Sharma’s top 5 knocks in T20Is

Rohit Sharma has finally led India to glory after 11 years as the Men in Blue won their first ICC trophy since 2013. In the final on June 29, India defeated South Africa by seven runs to win their second T20 World Cup, and their first since the inaugural edition in 2007.

As Rohit Sharma became the second Indian captain to win the T20 World Cup trophy, the Indian opener also bid farewell to the shortest format of the game. He joined Virat Kohli, who earlier announced his retirement from T20Is while collecting his Player of the Match Award.

At the post-match conference, Rohit Sharma said he started his career for India playing in the T20 format and that this was the perfect time to announce his retirement after winning the trophy.

"This was my last game (T20I) as well. No better time to say goodbye to this format. I've loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup," Rohit said.

The Indian opener was the second-highest run-getter in the 2024 World Cup. He scored 257 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 156.7 and had three half-centuries to his name. Meanwhile, Rohit bid farewell as the player with the most runs in T20Is. The Indian T20 World Cup-winning captain scored 4231 runs in 159 matches. Throughout his career, he hit 32 fifties and five tons.

As one of the greats of Indian cricket hung his boots in T20I cricket, in this article, we will look at Rohit Sharma’s top five knocks in the shortest format.

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#5 Rohit Sharma guides India to a series win against England

India faced England in the final game of a three-match series in 2018. The Men in Blue won the toss and chose to ball first. Jason Roy led the way with his innings of 67 runs as England scored 198 runs in the series decider.

In response, India lost Shikhar Dhawan early, but Rohit Sharma was at his very best. The Indian opener played a blinder, remaining unbeaten on 100 off 56 balls.

Rohit hit 11 fours and five sixes, and he received decent support from Virat Kohli (43) and Hardik Pandya (33) as India won the match by seven wickets, with eight balls to spare. This was Rohit's third T20I ton, and he was given the Player of the Match award.

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#4 Rohit leading from the front against the West Indies in 2018

The West Indies won the toss and chose to ball first in the second game of a three-match series played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, was on fire as he hit the West Indies bowlers all around the park.

Rohit remained unbeaten on 111 runs off 61 balls as the Men in Blue scored 195 runs in their 20 overs. The Indian opener struck eight fours and seven sixes.

In response, the West Indian batters never looked comfortable, as they fell well short of the target. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav all bagged two wickets each as the Men in Blue won by 71 runs.

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#3 The India Captain showing his class against Australia in 2024

India faced Australia in their last game of the Super-Eights of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Men in Blue lost Virat Kohli for a duck, but Rohit was in great touch. The Indian captain wreaked havoc in the third over when he hit Mitchell Starc for four sixes and a four.

After that, Rohit never looked back and missed a well-deserved ton by just eight runs. Rohit scored 92 off 41 balls as the Men in Blue put a good total of 205 on the board.

In response, Travis Head (76) and Mitchell Marsh (37) fought hard, but it wasn’t enough as India won the match by 24 runs, qualifying for the semi-finals and putting Australia's hopes in jeopardy.

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#2 The right-handed batter scored his highest score in T20s against Afghanistan in 2024

The second on the list is Rohit Sharma’s innings against Afghanistan, which came earlier this year. It was the last game of the series, and India were 22-4 at one point. Then Rohit, along with Rinku Singh (68), stitched a 190-run partnership as the Men in Blue scored 212 runs.

Rohit initially looked scratchy but later took on the Afghan bowlers confidently. The India captain remained unbeaten on 121 off 69 balls, hitting 11 fours and eight sixes.

In response, Afghanistan played brilliantly as the fifties from Gurbaz, Gulbadin, and Ibrahim Zadran took the match to the Super Over. However, India eventually came on top after they won the second Super Over, which was played after the first one resulted in a tie.

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#1 A record-breaking inning from Rohit Sharma against Sri Lanka in 2017

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first in the second game of a three-match series played at Holkar Stadium in 2017. However, Sri Lanka weren't ready for what was coming next. Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul went berserk as they stitched a 165-run opening stand.

Rahul scored 89 off 49, but it was Rohit who stole the show after scoring the fastest century by an Indian batter in T20s in just 35 balls. The T20 World Cup-winning captain scored 118 runs in just 43 balls as the Men in Blue scored 260 runs. Rohit smashed 12 fours and 10 sixes in his innings.

In response, Kusal Perera scored 77 runs, but that was never going to be enough as India easily won the match by 88 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets for India on this historic day for Rohit Sharma.