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Rohit's ton against South Africa at Southampton during the 2019 World Cup opener was his 23rd ODI century overall, with 21 coming as an opener. Looking back, the impact of MS Dhoni's decision to promote him to the opening slot during the 2013 Champions Trophy was nothing short of transformative.
Since making that switch, Rohit has become a record-breaking machine in ODI cricket. Since becoming a regular opener, he has amassed 6,136 runs across 120 games, boasting an incredible average of 59.00 and a sharp strike rate of 91.73. The difference is night and day when you look at his stats before the move: just 1,978 runs in 86 matches with an average of 30.43 and a strike rate of 77.93. Both his scoring rate and consistency skyrocketed once he started facing the new ball. It's a perfect example of how a single strategic decision can redefine a player's entire professional life, and Rohit owes a great deal of that success to Dhoni's intuition in 2013.
In this specific timeframe, Rohit stands alone as the most prolific ODI opener. His closest rival is his longtime partner, Shikhar Dhawan. While the left-hander has put up a respectable 5,294 runs, he did so in four more matches than Rohit and maintains a significantly lower average of 45.63.ODI cricket has scored more runs than Rohit during this time period. The one who comes closest to him is his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan. The left-handed batsman has 5294 ODI runs to his name, but in four more matches than him, that too at an average (45.63) which is way lesser than that of Rohit.
Furthermore, Rohit's average of 59.00 is the highest of any opener with at least 20 innings in this period. While Imam-ul-Haq follows closely with 57.32, he has only played 30 matches—meaning Rohit has maintained his elite form over 90 more games. To stay that consistent over such a massive sample size requires incredible mental strength and discipline, which is why Rohit is currently regarded as the gold standard in his role.
If you look at the number of half-centuries and above, Rohit leads the pack with 50 such scores, 21 of which were converted into hundreds. Dhawan follows in second place with 42 scores over fifty, ahead of other big names like Quinton de Kock (36), Hashim Amla (35), and Aaron Finch (35).
His power hitting is equally unmatched; no other opener has cleared the boundary as often as he has. With 197 sixes to his name, he dwarfs the next best players, Martin Guptill (124) and Chris Gayle (122). In fact, no other opener has even reached the 100-six milestone in this window, highlighting Rohit's extraordinary ability to hit maximums as he nears the 200-six mark.
Despite his individual brilliance, a World Cup trophy remains the one missing piece of his legacy. He wasn't part of the squad during India's 2011 triumph, and in the 2015 tournament, India's journey ended in a semi-final defeat to Australia. Now, he has another opportunity to claim the title, and after starting the tournament with a dominant, match-winning century, he will be hungry to lead India to victory.
Written by: Prasenjit Dey