IPL 2024
Top 5 Captaincy Gems by Rohit Sharma in IPL History
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy tenure has finally come to an end after Hardik Pandya was announced as captain of the side.
Rohit Sharma has been one of the greatest skippers not only in the history of the Mumbai Indians but also in the history of the Indian Premier League. His 10-year captaincy reign saw them win five titles and with some of the most convincing campaigns. Some of his captaincy calls during some crucial junctures of the contests proved to be astonishing to fans and experts but it worked out nicely.
Since the Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya would be leading the side, it has effectively ended his role as skipper of Rohit Sharma. Let’s take a detailed look at some moments where Rohit Sharma proved his role as captain.
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Top 5 Captaincy Gems by Rohit Sharma in IPL History
5) Crucial knocks at important junctures
Rohit Sharma vs CSK, IPL 2015 final (Source: Twitter)
Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni squared up once more at the Eden Gardens during the IPL 2015 final. Mumbai needed someone to turn the tide in their favour after losing Parthiv Patel early on for a duck. MI got the boost they needed when skipper Rohit Sharma assumed control of the innings and struck a half-century off only 25 balls. They were able to post a massive score of 202/5 in the IPL final. This total proved to be simply too strong for CSK, who ended up losing by 41 runs.
4) Assuming control during lacklustre season
Rohit Sharma takes over from Ricky Ponting (Source: Twitter)
In 2013, Ricky Ponting was named captain, but he resigned after just a few games because he thought his batting performances weren’t good enough. Then, Mumbai made a choice that changed the course of their whole IPL career. The task of leading MI to triumph fell to a young Rohit Sharma, and he succeeded when MI defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the final match for the title.
3) Iconic dressing room speech during poor IPL 2022 campaign
Rohit Sharma’s dressing room talk during IPL 2022 (Source: Twitter)
Mumbai Indians endured one of their worst finishes in IPL 2022 after they came 10th on the point standings. A video of his dressing room speech went viral in which he inspired his young as well as experienced teammates. He had said, “I think slight desperation is required from each one of us. That desperation is very, very, very important when we play, especially in this tournament. Because oppositions are different, they come up with different plans all the time. We just need to stay ahead of them. We just need to stay on top of them. And the only way we can do that is by having that slight hunger and that desperation on the field – with the bat, with the ball.”
2) Backing Lasith Malinga for IPL 2019 final over
Rohit Sharma vs CSK, IPL 2019 final (Source: Twitter)
Krunal Pandya made a valiant 47 on a challenging surface to guarantee that MI reached a competitive score of 129/8. Even though the score looked low, Rohit Sharma did a fantastic job rotating his bowlers to make sure the game went all the way to the wire. In addition to Washington Sundar being run out on the last ball, another incident that will live on in MI legend is the field setting to get Steve Smith out. He kept a player between Deep cover and deep backward point knowing he’ll play the shot and ultimately got his prized wicket.
1) Field setting for Steve Smith during IPL 2017 final
Rohit Sharma vs RPS, IPL 2017 final (Source: Twitter)
During the 2019 IPL final versus CSK, Lasith Malinga was pretty expensive in his initial three overs. But Rohit Sharma backed his veteran bowler to do the job, needing to defend nine runs off the last over. It was astonishing how Malinga could hit his yorkers and reduce the gap to two runs from the last delivery. Shardul Thakur was caught in front with a slower yorker that absolutely astonished him, and MI won another final.
