5 Instances when Rohit Sharma pulled off unlikely wins in IPL

3. 79* (39) vs Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai, 2013

Mumbai Indians’ campaign in 2013 IPL was back on track after Rohit Sharma took up the captaincy of the team. MI defeated KKR in Kolkata and thumped RCB at home under the new skipper before hosting the Kings XI Punjab. Rohit elected to bat first after winning the toss which was a rather surprising decision considering the dew factor at the Wankhede in night matches. He walked to bat at No.4 when MI were 43/2 in 7.4 and their run rate was below 6.

A struggling Dwayne Smith got out in the 13th over at the score of 86/3 allowing Kieron Pollard to occupy the crease for a longer period. By the start of 15th over, MI were 102/3 with Rohit just beginning to take off having scored 21 from 20 balls. He struck three sixes and two fours in the next three overs to reach his fifty in only 28 balls. MI yielded only 45 runs between 16th and 19th overs despite Rohit going crazy as Pollard found it tough scoring quickly like their top-3.

Rohit sensed a real chance to do the heavy lifting to Mumbai’s total when the KXIP skipper David Hussey brought himself to bowl the 20th over. The first ball of the over was cleared over the long-on fence but the next one was a dot ball with Hussey bowling yorker length. Sharma cleared mid-wicket and long-on regions to find back to back sixes. He struck fours on the last two balls to yield 29 runs from the over which included a wide.

The big over helped the home side finish on 174/3 with their captain Rohit scored a sensational 79* off 39 balls that featured six fours and as many maximums. On a good batting track, the total of 174 turned out to be enough for MI to win as the Kings XI Punjab made a mockery of the chase. Almost every batsman in their line-up tried for big hits and failed to escape with a positive result. They were bowled out on the last ball of the game at the score of 170.