A high, juicy full toss outside off and Rohit Sharma produced one of the most audacious strokes of the night. He waited for Vaibhav Arora’s delivery to arrive, then lofted it cleanly over deep extra cover for a six, holding the pose for the shutterbugs. That turn-back-the-clock shot summed up Rohit’s vintage knock at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The former India T20I captain, now a one-format international player after retiring from T20Is two years ago, carved out a sensational innings in Mumbai’s season opener. Not only did he register the fastest IPL fifty of his career, but he also went past one of Virat Kohli’s most elite records in the tournament.
Rohit was 12 off 8 at one stage as Mumbai Indians chased 221 against KKR, looking to snap their opening-game jinx. But once he got a feel of the surface, he shifted gears decisively. He targeted Varun Chakravarthy, a bowler against whom he had a strike rate of under 100, smashing him for 15 runs in an over, including a six and two boundaries.
He then took apart impact substitute Kartik Tyagi, hammering him for two sixes to bring up his half-century in just 23 balls, inside the powerplay. It was the fastest fifty of his IPL career, surpassing his previous best, a 25-ball effort in the 2015 final against Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata.
The milestone also marked his 50th half-century-plus score in IPL history, making him the third Indian to reach the landmark after Kohli (72) and Shikhar Dhawan (53), and fourth overall, with David Warner (66) second on the list.
In the next phase, Ryan Rickelton, who matched Rohit’s fluency, took over as the aggressor while Rohit briefly played second fiddle, scoring 15 off 10 balls, including three boundaries. But the lull didn’t last long.
He soon went after Arora again, first with a down-the-track boundary, then with that trademark six over extra cover. That hit took him to 1161 runs against KKR, making him the highest run-scorer against a single IPL opponent. He surpassed Kohli, who has 1159 runs against Punjab Kings and 1146 against Chennai Super Kings.
Arora, however, had the final say in the same over. Rohit mistimed a low full toss outside off, getting a top edge that ballooned over mid-on. Anukul Roy tracked back brilliantly and completed a fine catch to end Rohit’s innings on 78 off 38 balls, studded with six fours and six sixes.
