Team India captain Rohit Sharma will be keen to put up a good performance as leader and batter when the Men in Blue take on South Africa in a three-match T20I series at home. The series will begin with the 1st T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (September 28), while the other two matches will be played in Guwahati (October 2) and Indore (October 4).
Looking at Hitman’s recent performances in the T20I format, he scored 133 runs in four matches during the Asia Cup in the UAE at an average of 33.25 and a strike rate of 151.14. The elegant right-handed batter hit 72 off 41 in the Super 4 clash against Sri Lanka in Dubai. It came in a losing cause, though, as the Lankans chased down a target of 174.
Rohit was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 46 off 20 balls as Team India chased down 91 in the 8 overs per side contest against Australia in Nagpur recently. With the series against the Proteas being the Men in Blue’s last T20I assignment before the World Cup, Rohit will be keen to shine with the willow.
Rohit Sharma record vs SA
Rohit has so far played 13 T20Is against South Africa in which he has scored 362 runs at an average of 32.90 and a strike rate of 134.07. Apart from two fifties, the Indian captain also had a hundred to his name against the Proteas in the format.
Rohit’s highest T20I score versus South Africa came in Dharamsala in October 2015, when he hammered 106 in only 66 balls, a top-quality knock that featured 12 fours and five sixes. Thanks to the opener’s brilliance, India posted 199 for 5 batting first. South Africa, however, chased down the target in 19.4 overs with seven wickets in hand.
The seasoned Indian batter also scored an unbeaten 50 off 40 balls in the 2007 T20 World Cup clash in Durban and 53 off 34 at the same venue in a one-off T20I in January 2011.
In his last T20I match against the Proteas in Bengaluru in September 2019, Rohit was dismissed for 9 as the visitors registered a nine-wicket triumph.
Rohit Sharma stats vs SA
The 35-year-old has played nine Tests against South Africa in which he has scored 678 runs at an average of 42.37, with three hundreds. Rohit’s best Test score against the Proteas came in Ranchi in October 2019 when he hammered 212 in 255 balls, a sublime knock that included 28 fours and six sixes. India won the Test by an innings and 202 runs.
In the first Test of the same series in Visakhapatnam, the right-hander hammered tons in both innings. Promoted to open the batting, he registered scores of 176 and 127. He was named Player of the Match as the hosts won the Test by 203 runs.
In one-dayers against the Proteas, Rohit has 766 runs to his name from 25 matches at an average of 33.30, with three hundreds. His best of 150 came off 133 balls in Kanpur in October 2015. The Men in Blue, however, went down by five runs in a chase of 304.
Rohit Sharma vs SA numbers
Overall, Rohit has scored 1806 international runs against South Africa (all three formats combined) in 47 matches. He has seven international tons versus the Proteas - three each in Tests and one-dayers, and one in T20Is. With his part-time off-spin, he has claimed three ODI wickets; his best of 2 for 30 coming in Durban in January 2011.
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