Be his humongous sixes or impeccable timing, it’s a treat to watch Rohit Sharma when the Mumbai Indians skipper is in full flow. The 35-year-old Rohit on Friday produced his trademark pull shot against Gujarat Titans to conjure his first six of the night at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)
The Indian put away Alzarri Joseph’s delivery for an effortless six over mid-wicket in the second delivery to complete 200 maximums for Mumbai Indians. Rohit is now the second MI player after Kieron Pollard to have over 200 sixes for the club. The West Indian has 257 sixes under his belt. Rohit cleared the rope again versus Mohammed Shami as he managed to pull off a premeditated lap shot over fine-leg.
With the six, Rohit also joined the elite list of most sixes for a franchise in the IPL. Chris Gayle leads the panel with 263 sixes for Royal Challengers Bangalore, followed by Pollard. AB de Villiers (240 sixes) and Virat Kohli (228 sixes) are the next two names on the list, with both clearing the fence for the same team, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Chennai Super Kings stalwarts Suresh Raina (220 sixes) and MS Dhoni (218 sixes) are also a part of the 200-six club in the IPL.
200-plus sixes for a team in IPL
1. Chris Gayle for RCB
2. Ab de Villiers for RCB
3. Virat Kohli for RCB
4. Kieron Pollard for MI
5. Rohit Sharma for MI
Rohit was in touching distance of maiden fifty of the season before Rashid Khan trapped him LBW in the eighth over. The MI leader put up a 74-run opening partnership with Ishan Kishan but perished after scoring 43 off 28 deliveries.
Earlier, Titans skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first, saying his team wants to use the new ball well. “After the last game, we decided to forget the game as it (win) would come. Batters and bowlers know they need to get better,” Pandya said, confirming that Gujarat Titans are going into the match with an unchanged playing XI.”
Rohit, on the other hand, said they want to finish the tournament well after a long season. “Last game was good (for us), we want to carry on with the momentum despite it being too late. We need to prove ourselves every time we get on the field. There have been ups and downs, we have played well in patches, we need to do it consistently today,” Sharma said.
