With series on line, Rohit Sharma raises the bar at his beloved Wankhede

MUMBAI: If Rohit Sharma had his way, 2019 would never end. From slamming a record five hundreds in the World Cup in England to smashing big hundreds in his new role as a Test opener, the Mumbaikar has achieved all that he would've dreamt of as an aspiring cricketer.
Coming into this game, the 32-year-old had scored as many as 2113 runs at an average of over 50 across formats.It is a tally that only falls short of his India captain Virat Kohli (2296) on the list of batsmen with most international runs in the calendar year.
However, by his high standards, Rohit's blazing form had surprisingly gone cold in T20 cricket, a format in which he boasts of four hundreds for India - including a 35-ball century against Sri Lanka on December 22, 2017, which shares the record with South Africa's David Miller's blitzkrieg for the fastest-ever century in T20 Internationals.

Before this game in 2019, Rohit has managed 'just' (going by his lofty standards) 325 runs from 13 T20Is at 25.00, including three fifties. It was his worst T20I batting average in the last six years. Six times he failed to cross double figures. Since his match-winning 85 against Bangladesh in Rajkot on November 7, the star opener suffered a bad slump, getting out for 2, 6, 21, 8 and 15.
In the last game, Rohit tried something which really isn't this supreme timer of the ball's game - trying a ramp shot off Jason Holder - and lost his leg stump in the process. With him not finding his mojo, India were missing the zing that they get from him at the top, which also reduced pressure on Kohli.
Great batsmen - and Rohit can certainly be termed as one in limited overs cricket - however, keep their best when their team needs it the most. With the series on line at the third T20 International against the Wankhede, the Indian vice-captain provided exactly the sort of fiery start the team needed for him, as he blasted a 34-ball 71, which included six fours and five sixes. His power game was the missing link that India needed in their batting, and his assault set them on course, laying the foundation for India's massive total of 240 for three. It set the stage up perfectly for Kohli to conjure up his magic later.

The determined look on his face to stamp his authority on the most crucial game of the series was evident right from the beginning, and there was no looking back for him once he smashed Sheldon Cottrell past extra cover for a four off just the second ball of the innings. Later, he clubbed Cottrell for a six over deep midwicket and a four past mid off, before launching into left-arm spinner Kary Pierre for his next three sixes.
During his highly-entertaining innings, Rohit crossed an incredible landmark - he's now the third batsman after Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi to hit more than 400 sixes.
It helped Rohit that the series finale was at Wankhede - his home ground for both his domestic (Mumbai) and IPL team (Mumbai Indians).
Having led MI for six years now, in which they've won four titles, he knows every blade of grass, and seems to love batting on a pitch where the ball comes on the bat nicely, thus suiting his effortless, sublime strokeplay. It helped him, though, that his new opening partner, KL Rahul, too was going ballistic at the other end, smashing a 56-ball 91.