Rohit Sharma: India's most bankable big-match player
The bigger the occasion, the greater is the desire and determination of great players to take their team to victory.
Over the years, Rohit Sharma has transformed from an inconsistent player to a genuine match-winner in the shorter formats of the game. Post the Champions Trophy in England in 2013, Rohit has become the backbone of the Indian limited overs side. Out of his 16 career ODI hundreds, 14 have come after the Champions Trophy, with six coming in 2017 itself.
Rohit completed 10 years in international cricket in June 2017. In the last decade, the Hitman has played some match-winning knocks in the big games (knockouts, series deciders, finals), leading both his nation and his domestic sides to victory.
Let us celebrate the journey of this outstanding stroke player by looking at some knocks he played for India and his IPL side Mumbai Indians on the big occasions:
#10 30* vs Pakistan (ICC T20 World Cup Final 2007 at Johannesburg)
The 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa was the stage where Rohit announced himself to the world. He played a defiant innings of 50 against South Africa at Durban which led India to the semi-finals of the competition.
Rohit, however, didn't stop there, scoring 30 from 16 balls to take India to a respectable total of 157 from 20 overs in the final against Pakistan. India went on to win the final by five runs. Rohit's small but important contribution led India to their first World Cup triumph in 24 years.