Published 11:57 IST, April 30th 2020
Rohit Sharma turns 33: Watch Hitman's 40-ball 50* in maiden T20I innings during 2007 WC
Rohit Sharma batted in a T20I for the first time ever against South Africa at the 2007 T20 World Cup. He made 50* and helped India get to a match-winning total.
Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma showed a lot of promise when he made his debut for the national side back in 2007. During the inaugural T20 World Cup, Sharma gave a glimpse of his new-age fearless hitting abilities, which promised a lot of potential. As the 'Hitman' of Indian cricket turned 33 on Thursday, let us take a look at his maiden T20I innings and everything his career became since then.
Rohit Sharma birthday: Rohit Sharma smashes fifty in first-ever T20I innings
India were playing the T20 World Cup in 2007 when Rohit Sharma made his debut in the match against England. Sharma's services with the bat were, however, not needed as this was the match where Yuvraj Singh thrashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. In India's next match of the tournament, the Men in Blue faced South Africa and here is where Rohit Sharma played his first ever T20I innings.
Coming in to bat when India were 3-33, Rohit Sharma exuded confidence as he smashed the likes of Johan van der Wath and Morne Morkel for plenty of runs. Finishing the Indian innings with a six, Sharma brought up his maiden T20I fifty and took India to 153. India ended up winning the match by 37 runs and Rohit Sharma was crowned Player of the match. Here are the highlights.
(Video courtesy: ICC/CricketWithJulius)
Rohit Sharma birthday: The career that followed
Rohit Sharma performed beautifully throughout the Indian T20 World Cup campaign, which eventually led to the team winning the inaugural tournament. In the inaugural IPL, Rohit Sharma was picked up by the Deccan Chargers and played some important innings for the side. In 2009, under Adam Gilchrist's captaincy and Rohit Sharma's vice-captaincy, the team lifted the IPL trophy.
Sharma stayed with the Chargers until IPL 2010 and was then picked up by the Mumbai Indians. In 2013, he was appointed as the captain of the Mumbai Indians and the batsman has led the team to four IPL titles (the most for any team) since then. He is also the vice-captain of India in the limited overs formats and has smashed a record three double centuries in ODIs. In the 2019 World Cup, Sharma made a new record when he smashed five hundreds in the competition.
In the T20I format, Sharma has made 2773 runs and remains one of the highest scorers in the format. He has made four hundreds and 21 fifties.
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Updated 11:58 IST, April 30th 2020