Rohit Sharma's 3 best cameos in T20Is ft. 2007 T20 World Cup final
Rohit Sharma is the only Indian player to have featured in all editions of the Men's T20 World Cup so far from 2007 to 2024. His first T20 World Cup came in 2007, which was the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Going down memory lane, it was exactly on this day (24/9/2007), 17 years back, that India won the first edition of the T20 World Cup with their memorable win against Pakistan. Starting the tournament as underdogs and least favorites, a young Indian team went all the way to create history.
Rohit Sharma was a key member of that squad, playing some crucial knocks in the tournament, including in the final as well. 17 years later, the same Rohit went on to captain India in the 2024 edition, ending a long wait as the Men in Blue won the T20 World Cup for the second time earlier this year after their triumph against South Africa in the final.
Fittingly enough, Rohit decided to call it quits in the format after leading India to glory yet again.
While the current Indian captain (ODIs and Tests) is known for his explosive hitting and big knocks, there have also been instances where the 'Hitman' has played smaller, yet effective innings in his T20I career.
On this occasion, here are the three best cameos Rohit has played in his T20I career.
Rohit Sharma's 3 best cameos in T20Is
#3 21 off 9 vs South Africa, 2018
India were playing South Africa away from home. In the opening T20I of the series at Johannesburg in 2018, batting first, India put up a mammoth total of 203/5 on the board. Shikhar Dhawan (72 off 39) was the top scorer in that game. However, his opening partner Rohit Sharma set the tone with a fiery cameo at the top.
He took the attack to the opposition from the word go, smashing 21 runs off just 9 deliveries. Although he was dismissed in just the second over, he had made the team's intentions very clear. He smashed 2 fours and as many sixes at a strike-rate of 233.33.
India eventually went on to win the game by 28 runs, restricting South Africa to 175/9.
#2 33 off 16 vs West Indies, 2022
More recently in 2022, Rohit Sharma played another brilliant cameo against West Indies in the fourth T20I at Lauderhill.
Batting first, then-captain Rohit Sharma displayed why he is known for leading from the front. He gave India a solid start upfront as he scored 33 runs off just 16 deliveries before being dismissed inside the fifth over.
His innings comprised a couple of fours and three sixes, coming at a strike-rate of 206.25. India posted a total of 191/5. They then bundled West Indies out for just 132 runs to register an impressive 59-run victory.
#1 30* off 16 vs Pakistan, 2007
As mentioned earlier, Rohit Sharma played a few important knocks in the 2007 T20 World Cup and one of them came on the big occasion in the final against Pakistan.
Batting first at Johannesburg, India were under pressure after being reduced to 130/5 by the 18th over. With just a couple of overs to go, they needed a strong finish to post a competitive total.
A young Rohit Sharma stepped up when needed the most, smashing an unbeaten 30 off just 16 deliveries to power India to 157/5. His knock had two fours and a six. Rohit's cameo at the backend proved to be extremely crucial as India eventually won the final by a close margin of just 5 runs, thus creating history.