Best of the best: Rohit Sharma's top 5 innings in T20Is

#1 50(40) vs South Africa, Durban - 2007

Going into a must-win game in the T20 World Cup in 2007, India were rocked early with the withdrawal of Yuvraj Singh, who set the stage on fire hitting six sixes in the previous game against England. On a greenish pitch and with rain around, India opted to bat first to only find themselves in trouble at 33/3 in 5 overs and then 61/4 in the 11th over.

A 20-year old Rohit Sharma, who debuted in the game against England (didn’t get to bat) was out to play his first innings. Giving him company was the skipper MS Dhoni. And these two steadied the ship before shifting gears. Rohit Sharma, in particular, was impressive as he scored 50 off 40 balls to help India finish with 153/5 at the end of 20 overs.

Some of the shots Rohit played were stupendous – making room and lofting the ball cover, flicking it through mid-wicket and finishing the innings with a glorious six over square-leg.

That 50 and Dhoni’s 45 helped India finish with a par score of 153/5, which helped them to advance to the semi-finals by knocking the hosts, South Africa, out of the tournament.