Rohit Sharma completes 16,000 international runs: Decoding his stats
On Saturday, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma slammed a crisp 16-ball 33 against West Indies in the fourth T20I. The Hitman slammed two fours and three sixes before Akeal Hosein drew curtains to his stay. Nonetheless, the effort saw the talented batter reach 16,000 runs in international cricket. He also pipped Shahid Afridi's record of 476 sixes at the international level. We decode his stats.
Why does this story matter?
Rohit is arguably the most talented batter in the modern era. He is one of the sweetest timers of the ball and is widely revered for his flair and technique. The journey wasn't smooth at first for Rohit in the international cricket. However, his perseverance eventually paid off. Since 2013, there has been no looking back for the Mumbaikar.
Seventh Indian to attain this feat
Rohit has become the seventh Indian batter to breach the 16,000-run mark in the international arena. Sachin Tendulkar (34,537), Rahul Dravid (24,064), Virat Kohli (23,726), Sourav Ganguly (18,433), MS Dhoni (17,092), and Virender Sehwag (16,892) are the others. Rohit clocked the feat in his 427th inning. He averages a stellar 43.36. He holds 41 hundreds and 86 fifties, with a personal best of 264.
Second-most sixes in international cricket
Rohit (477) trumped Afridi (476) to smash the second-most sixes at the international arena. He ranks behind West Indies' Chris Gayle (533). The right-hander has tonked 64, 250, and 163 sixes in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, respectively.
Rohit has a distinct feat to his name
Rohit is the only cricketer to score three ODI double hundreds, with his personal best being 264. His 264 against Sri Lanka is also the highest individual score in the history of ODIs. Rohit also amassed 209 against Australia in 2013 and an unbeaten 208* against Lanka in 2017. He also has four T20I tons, most by any player in this format.
Joint-second-most international tons by an Indian opener
In February 2021, Rohit surpassed Little Master Sunil Gavaskar in terms of international centuries by an Indian opener. The former owns the joint-second-most centuries across formats by an Indian opener with Virender Sehwag (36). The duo is only behind Tendulkar on this list, who has the most centuries by an opener in international cricket (45).
Second-most ODI runs since his debut
Rohit made his ODI debut in June 2007 in a match against Ireland in Belfast. In a career spanning over 15 years, the 35-year-old has smashed 9,376 runs at a remarkable average of 48.53. He has the second-most runs in the format since his debut. Rohit is only behind his compatriot Kohli, who slammed a record 12,344 runs in this period.
Most runs in winning cause (T20Is)
Rohit is the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals. He has scored 3,487 runs at an average of 32.28 so far. Notably, Rohit has tallied 2,826 of these runs in a winning cause, the most by a batter in matches won. India's Kohli (2,223) and New Zealand's Martin Guptill (2,152) are the only others to have scored over 2,000 T20I runs in winning cause.
Other notable records of Rohit
Rohit has the fourth-most international sixes in home conditions (225). He remains the only Indian batter with 200-plus sixes in international cricket at home. He is the first Indian to score each of his first seven Test hundreds at home. He is the only player in world cricket to have slammed centuries across formats against four teams (Sri Lanka, WI, South Africa, and England).
