Rohit Sharma has been the lynchpin of Mumbai Indians batting ever since he joined the franchise. His game has only got better with his captaincy and is currently the most successful skipper in IPL history with four titles under his belt. Today, Rohit joined another list alongside Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina during their game against Kings XI Punjab.
Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul won the toss and elected to field first on a new Dubai wicket and Sheldon Cottrell rewarded him with an early wicket. He bowled a gem of a delivery to rattle Quinton de Kock’s timber to give Punjab stead ahead.
Rohit Sharma third to score 5000 IPL runs
Meanwhile, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma entered the match two runs short of the 5000 IPL runs milestone. But Rohit ensured he reached the landmark with a fine boundary through the covers off Mohammed Shami in the second over. Prior to him, only Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina had achieved this feat in the IPL.
Incidentally, in IPL 2019, Suresh Raina became the first batsmen in history to score 5000 runs in the cash-rich league. The southpaw reached that milestone in 173 innings, while it was his 177th IPL match.
Five days later, Virat Kohli became the second but fastest batsman to complete 5000 IPL runs. He reached the milestone in 157th IPL innings and 165th IPL match. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma reached the 5000 IPL runs feat in 192 matches; the most among the three.
Speaking about the game, Mumbai Indians will need Rohit to fire in the death overs as they aim to post a challenging total on the board. Kings XI Punjab have bowled really well led by Sheldon Cottrell to contain the defending champions for 87 for three in 14 overs.
Kieron Pollard, who has enjoyed a healthy average in recent times is batting alongside Rohit Sharma and duo will hope to make the most of the runs.