Rohit Sharma picks first ODI wicket in 11 years; joins Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly in elite WC list
For the second straight edition, Rohit Sharma amassed 500 or more runs in a single World Cup event, a feat not other batter managed before in history.
After a stellar show in 2019, which was laced by record five centuries en route to 648 runs, Rohit breached the 500-run mark on Sunday in India’s final league game of the home tournament with a fifty against Netherlands.
Yet it was impact with the ball that became the bigger talking point at the end of India’s 160-run win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as the Indian captain, for the first time in 11 years, picked up an ODI wicket.
Shortly after Virat Kohli bagged his maiden international wicket in nine years by dismissing Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards, Rohit introduced himself into the attack for the very first time in this World Cup. It was in fact the first time Rohit rolled his arms in international cricket in about three years, the last being in the Chennai Test against England in February 2021.
Coming into the attack in the 48th over with Netherlands nine down, Rohit was smacked for a six by Teja Nidamanuru against a flat delivery in the fourth ball before the captain bounced back in the very next ball. He gave more flight to the delivery and Nidamanuru went for the maximum yet again, but it came off the toe-end of the bat as Mohammed Shami stopped the efforts at long-on with a simple catch.
This was Rohit’s first wicket in ODI cricket in 11 years, the last being in Melbourne during a match against Australia in 2012. It hence took his tally of wickets to nine in the format, and 12 in international cricket.
With the dismissal, Rohit became the first Indian captain in 20 years to pick up a wicket in a World Cup match. The last Indian skipper was Sourav Ganguly, who had picked up three wickets in just five overs in a match against Zimbabwe in the 2003 edition of the tournament. The only other skipper to have achieved this feat was the legendary Kapil Dev, who picked 17 wickets across 1983 and 1987 World Cup.