5 Greatest Moments Of Rohit Sharma's International Career

5 best moments in Rohit Sharma's career [Source: AFP]

On this day in 2007, Rohit Sharma, the legendary player, made his international debut against Ireland. Back then, he was one of the most promising domestic prospects, but no one knew that 19 years later, the same cricketer would become one of the best in the business.

His career started with a T20 World Cup win in 2007, but soon, Rohit faded away as the youngster couldn’t justify his talent at the international stage. However, a chance to open the innings for India in 2023 changed his fortunes, and since then, Rohit has not looked back as he became India’s best World Cup performer (50 overs).

With Rohit completing 19 years at the international circuit, we take a look at his 5 greatest moments in India jersey.

1) T20 World Cup win in 2024

Rohit Sharma won the T20 World Cup in his very first attempt in 2007, but it took him 17 long years to win yet another World title in the T20 format. In 2024, Rohit had made up his mind to retire from T20Is, but his last wish was to end his glittering journey with a title win

He, alongside Virat Kohli, had given their all for Team India in the T20 format, and hence, the World Cup win was special for everyone. Rohit played like a man possessed in the entire tournament, and who can forget his iconic knock against Australia?

The champion batter led from the front, and India went undefeated as Rohit and his men captured their second T20 World title. After the win, Rohit could be seen emotional as he ended his T20I career on a high.

2) Iconic 264 vs Sri Lanka

Rohit Sharma remains the ODI player with the most double hundreds in ODI cricket (3), but his iconic 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014 remains special. In that series, the right-handed batter was coming off an injury, and early in the innings, he was dropped by one of the Sri Lankan players.

He tore apart the Lankan bowling attack, and slammed 264 runs, with 33 fours and 9 sixes to his name. He registered the highest individual score in ODI history, and even after 12 years, the score remains intact.

3) 5 hundreds in 2019 World Cup

Not one, not two, but Rohit Sharma slammed 5 hundreds in a single edition of the 50-overs World Cup (2019). He already had a great World Cup campaign in 2015, but the star Indian opener took it one notch above in 2019 to score five hundreds.

Rohit started the tournament with a hundred against South Africa in India’s opening contest. He followed it up with a breathtaking ton against Pakistan, and then against England, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

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Interestingly, Rohit became the only player to score five hundreds in a single World Cup edition, a record that might not be broken anytime soon.

4) Match-winning 50 in T20 WC match vs South Africa

India needed to beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2007 to reach the semifinals. The ask was tough as the Proteas had a solid bowling attack, and they made an immediate impact by picking 4 wickets inside the first 10 overs.

With all the experienced players back in the hut, India needed a messiah, and Rohit Sharma, who was making his World Cup debut, played the knock of his life. Against the attack of Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, and Morne Morkel, Rohit scored a gritty 50 off 40 balls and helped his side post 153 on the board.

The target was enough for a win as RP Singh ran riot, and the South African side posted only 116 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

5) First SENA hundred in Tests

Even Rohit would admit that he didn’t do justice to his talent in red-ball cricket. However, in the 2021 Oval Test, the Indian opener showed glimpses of his brilliance against England, as his match-winning hundred helped India win the Test.

After failing in the first innings, the right-handed batter bounced back in the second innings, and scored a majestic 127 runs, which turned out to be his first Test hundred in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia).

It wasn’t just any other Test ton, but the knock helped India beat England by 157 runs as the Asian side took a 2-1 lead in the series.

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