Rohit Sharma vs Virender Sehwag in ODIs: Statistical comparison
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma smoked a blistering half-century in the opening ODI versus Sri Lanka, helping India win by 67 runs. He finished with 83 off 67 balls (9 fours, 3 sixes). Though he fell short of his 30th ODI ton, he displaced Virender Sehwag as India's third-highest run-scoring opener in ODIs. Here we compare their stats while opening the batting.
Why does this story matter?
Rohit, who made his international debut in 2007, played in the middle order in his initial years. Though he did play some sensational knocks, consistency was lacking in his performances. His fortunes changed in 2013 when then skipper MS Dhoni promoted him to the opening slot. He has since piled up a plethora of runs and has now gone past Sehwag.
Rohit goes past Sehwag's tally
Sehwag, who played his last ODI in 2013, finished his career with 7,518 runs in 212 innings as an opener in the ODI format. Rohit went past his tally in his 149th innings while opening the batting. He now owns 7,519 runs at the position. The Indian skipper is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,310) and Sourav Ganguly (9,146) in this regard.
Rohit is way ahead in terms of average, century tally
Rohit's average of 56.53 is the highest among openers with at least 3,000 ODI runs. Sehwag, whose average reads 36.49, is way behind Rohit in this regard. Meanwhile, the current Indian skipper boasts 27 tons and 34 half-centuries in ODIs as an opener. Sehwag has 14 tons and 25 centuries under his belt. Rohit (92.73) is behind Sehwag (104.72) in terms of strike rate.
Rohit owns most ODI double-tons
Sehwag's 219 versus West Indies in 2011 was only the second double-ton in the ODI format. Interestingly, Rohit was at the non-striker's end when the dasher accomplished the milestone. The former went on to score three double-centuries in ODIs. No other batter boasts multiple double-hundreds in the format. Rohit also owns the highest individual score in the format, 264 versus Sri Lanka in 2014.
Home and away record
Rohit has been brilliant in home ODIs, scoring 3,275 runs in 57 innings at 62.98. Sehwag boasts 2,575 in 71 home ODI innings at 36.78. In away conditions (home of opposition) Rohit has scored 2,433 runs at 45.90. Sehwag scored 2,935 runs in 82 away ODIs at 37.62. Meanwhile, Sehwag and Rohit own 2,008 and 1,811 runs in neutral ODIs, respectively.
How they have fared in World Cups?
Sehwag, who featured in three ODI World Cups between 2003 and 2011, scored 843 runs in the tournament at 38.31. The tally includes two centuries and three fifties. Meanwhile, Rohit has featured in two ODI WCs so far (2015 and 2019), scoring 978 runs at 65.2. His tally of six WC centuries is the joint-highest for any batter. He also has three fifties.
