India Vs Australia 2019: Top 3 T20I knocks by Rohit Sharma Vs Australia

Rohit Sharma is the undisputed emperor of white ball cricket. He is the highest run scorer in T20I with 2326 runs from 85 innings at an average of 33 and strike rate of 138. He has scored 4 hundreds and 16 fifties in T20I which is also a record. Among the top 10 run scorers in T20I, only David Warner has a better strike rate at 140.

Rohit Sharma has played some exceptional innings for India in T20I. His best T20I innings came against Sri Lanka at Indore in 2017. He made 118 off a mere 43 balls with 12 fours and 10 sixes at an incredible strike rate of 274.

Thankfully for Sri Lanka, the hitman got out in the 13th over of the innings itself. Had he stayed till the very end of the innings, he could have gone on to score a double hundred in a T20I.

With India’s T20I series against Australia commencing in a few days, let us sit back and enjoy the top 3 T20I knocks by Rohit Sharma against Australia.

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#3. His 79 not out in the ICC World Twenty 20 at Bridgetown in 2010

In this match, the moment Dhoni won the toss and put Australia in, the Australian openers David Warner and Shane Watson went on the rampage completing a century partnership in the 11th over. The innings started off well for India with Harbhajan bowling a maiden to Shane Watson. Thereafter it was a run riot as Australia reached 184 for 5 in 20 overs.

Though Harbhajan Singh was the most economical bowler for India, there was enough pace and bounce in that Barbados wicket to interest the Aussie pace bowling trio of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait, and Mitchell Johnson.

Nannes got rid of both the Indian openers Murali Vijay and Gautam Gambhir in his second over. Rohit Sharma walked in at No 4 with the Indian score reading 12 for 2. Raina after top-edging Tait for a four perished in the same manner off the very next ball which was a short one.

Rohit Sharma commenced his innings with a boundary off Dirk Nannes but lost Yuvraj Singh in the same over. That made India 23 for 4. While Rohit released the pressure somewhat by pulling Mitchell Johnson for a six over mid-wicket, Dhoni gifted his wicket to part-timer Steve Smith.

The Indian score soon became 50 for 6 with the loss of Yusuf Pathan and Jadeja. The team was in danger of being bowled out for less than a hundred when Harbhajan Singh joined Rohit Sharma who was batting safely on 21.

At that moment, Rohit thought enough was enough and decided to go down with all guns blazing. That had brought a complete change in his batting approach. He started off the fireworks by clearing Shane Watson for a six and four. He pounced on the friendly leg break stuff of Steve Smith, hoisting him for 2 sixes in an over. The second six brought Rohit’s 50 off 33 balls.

Rohit brought about India’s hundred with a 17 run over from Shane Watson. Nannes came back for his last over which went for 15 runs. In the end, Rohit remained not out on 79 off 46 balls when the Indian innings came to an end with the score on 135. The only other Indian batsman who reached the double figures was Harbhajan Singh.

Rohit Sharma’s 79 at Bridgetown against the Aussies was a master class played under tremendous pressure when the team score was 50 for 6. Perhaps his aggressive innings at Bridgetown might have drawn the attention of captain M.S.Dhoni and prompted him to promote Rohit Sharma as an opener in the later stages of his career.

A word about the Caribbean as a venue for India in ICC World Cup matches. Unlike England where India had won a World Cup and a Champions Trophy, the Caribbean has never been a lucky venue for Team India where India made an early exit in the 50 over World Cup in 2007 and in the T20I World Cup in 2010. Ironically, it was at Berbice in the Caribbean Island in 1983 where it all began for India when the first seeds of hope for winning the 1983 World Cup were sown.

#2 His 60 at Melbourne in 2016

Rohit and Dhawan - The most feared opening pair in the world

This was the second match of the three-match T20I series during India’s tour of Australia in 2016. In the five-match ODI series prior to the T20I series, Rohit had scores of 171 not out,124, 6, 41 and 99. However, India, unfortunately, lost the ODI series by a margin of 4-1.

In the T20I series that followed the ODI series, India began the series with a 37 run win in the first match at Adelaide. Rohit Sharma scored 31 off 20 balls in that match.

In the second match too, the Australian Captain Aaron Finch once again won the toss and decided to bowl. That suited India perfectly well and that was the opening the Indians were looking for. As always, Rohit was slow to start, scoring 1 off 10 balls. Dhawan at the other end was showing all the belligerence in the powerplay overs.

The introduction of James Faulkner in the fifth over of the innings opened up the hitman. With lovely flicks and straight drives, Rohit Sharma hit 3 fours off Faulkner in his first over. He feasted on the spin bowling of Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell by clouting them for a maximum each. Rohit added 97 runs with Dhawan and reached his 50 off 38 balls.

Rohit was looking dangerous when his innings was unexpectedly cut short when he had a misunderstanding with Virat Kohli. Rohit was run out for 60 off 47 balls. Whenever there was a misunderstanding between Rohit and Kohli in running between the wickets, the survivor invariably went on to score big. In this match, Kohli made 59 off 33 balls and India posted 184 for 3 in 20 overs.

India won the T20I by 27 runs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

# 1 His 52 at Sydney in 2016

Kohli and Rohit - The classic pair

This was the third match of the T20I series in India’s tour of Australia in 2016. For India, though the series was done and dusted, the team was keen to win the last T20I at Sydney too and make it 3-0. The reasoning given was that out of the 8 matches( 5 ODIs & 3 T20Is) in that Australian tour, India wanted to get even with a score of 4 all after losing the first 4 ODIs to Australia. By virtue of their win in the last ODI and the first two T20Is, India narrowed down the gap to 4-3. Hence the last T20I at Sydney was not a dead rubber, not for India.

Australia batted first and set a massive target of 198 for India to win. The Indian openers Rohit and Dhawan needed to fire in the powerplay overs if India had any chance of overhauling Australia’s score.

Dhawan gave India that electric start smacking 26 off 9 balls. Dhawan and Rohit Sharma together raided 24 runs in the third over of the innings bowled by Shaun Tait. When Dhawan got out in the 4th over of the innings, the Indian score had reached 46 by then.

Rohit continued in his attacking mood punching Boland and Shane Watson for boundaries. India was well within the required run rate reaching 100 in the 10th over. Rohit Sharma greeted Glenn Maxwell to the bowling crease with a six over mid-wicket. Rohit reached his 50 off 36 balls with 5 fours and one six.

When Rohit got out in the 13th over of the innings, India needed 74 off 45 balls. The required run rate was under control and Rohit had done his job. He had put on 78 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli. India reached the target in dramatic fashion off the last ball of the innings.

India needed 17 off the last over bowled by Andrew Tye. That was when Yuvraj Singh showed his experience belting the first two balls for a four and a six. Raina finished it off with a boundary off the last ball which took India to a 3-0 win.

Though Kohli(50 off 36 balls) and Suresh Raina(49 not out off 25 balls) played their part in making a clean sweep of the T20I series, it was the start given by Rohit Sharma which made all the difference in the difficult run chase.

It was the first time that a team had made a clean sweep of a series against Australia in Australia across all formats. Rohit Sharma’s tremendous form in that entire tour of Australia made that possible for India. Sharma finished the Australian tour with 590 runs in 7 completed innings at an impressive average of 84.

The hitman absolutely is the Emperor of white ball cricket.