Mumbai Indians

The last week of April is very special for Mumbai Indians. It starts with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar celebrating his birthday on April 24 and ends with ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma, reveling in his.

With the captain of Mumbai Indians turning 28 on the eve of their key clash, the Mumbai Indians camp, and obviously the Paltan, is all geared up to mark its captain’s new year with a special performance on Friday night at the Wankhede Stadium.

Rohit wasn’t a part of the Mumbai Indians set-up at the time of the IPL’s inception but, ever since he came on board his home IPL franchise in 2011, he and Mumbai Indians have emerged as two sides of a coin. His big-hitting prowess and sharp cricketing acumen meant Rohit not only won games with his blade but, was also seen as a future leader.

That moment came midway through the sixth edition of the IPL in 2013. Ricky Ponting, who was appointed as the season’s captain, decided to drop himself owing to his poor run with the bat. With Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, who had led MI in the past, having made clear they didn’t want to lead the side, Rohit was the natural choice to take over the reins. And he did wonders, as he led Mumbai Indians to their maiden IPL triumph.

In his five seasons with the Mumbai Indians in IPL, Rohit has shattered a variety of records. And he has continued to break records in the 2015 season itself. Despite having been dismissed for a duck twice, Rohit has tallied 244 runs in seven innings so far, fifth-most in the tournament. In the opening match of the season, Rohit became only the second batsman to tally 3,000 runs in IPL.

He has also crossed Ambati Rayudu to become the second-highest run-scorer for Mumbai Indians in IPL behind the great Tendulkar. With 1,977 runs for Mumbai Indians in IPL, he is only 23 runs shy of becoming the second after Tendulkar, who has 2,334 runs in IPL, to cross Mt 2k in IPL.

Great sportspersons often tend to mark special occasions with special performance. Rohit is no different. In 2008, a day after his birthday, he had played a blinder of unbeaten 76 for Deccan Chargers against Kings XI Punjab. And in 2013, he had scored a whirlwind unbeaten 79 off 39 on the eve of his birthday, to set up Mumbai Indian’s victory against Kings XI Punjab.

If Rohit can repeat the act against the Royals on Friday night, Mumbai Indians would definitely continue their charge towards the Playoffs after a slow start.

Rohit’s IPL performance in the match closest to his birthday.