India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, in limited overs cricket. Rohit aka The Hitman is the only batsman in the history of One Day International (ODI) cricket to score two double hundreds. And, his highest score in ODIs is 264. In the last 4 years,, Rohit has worked extremely hard on his game and established himself as one of the most important ,members of Indian cricket team in ODIs and T20Is.
Rohit’s career took a big turn when he was asked to open the innings in limited overs cricket. Rohit, who is one of the sweetest timers of the ball, grabbed this opportunity with both hands and played some spectacular match-winning knocks. In the last edition of ICC Champions Trophy (2013), Rohit and his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan batted brilliantly and provided some great starts to India. And, this year as well, Rohit and Dhawan have started well. In India’s opening match of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 against arch-rivals Pakistan, both of them batted brilliantly and laid a perfect platform for the likes of Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh. Rohit, unfortunately, fell agonisingly short of his hundred. He was run-out by a very close margin.
Recently, speaking at a gala dinner organized by Indian captain Virat Kohli’s foundation in England, Rohit Sharma was asked who is the toughest bowler he has faced and this is what he said:
“Dale Steyn. We’ve seen over the years what he has done for his country. It is always challenging to play against him. Since I’ve started opening it’s become even more challenging. I’ve always enjoyed playing against him, always competitive, so I think I’d say Dale Steyn.”
Dale Steyn has never dismissed Rohit Sharma in limited-overs cricket (T20Is and ODIs). In Test cricket, the Boxing Day Test between India and South Africa at Durban in 2013, was the only occasion that Steyn has dismissed Rohit in international cricket.
However, in Indian Premier League, Steyn has troubled Rohit on many occasions. Watch it here: Steyn vs Rohit
