Flashback: When Rohit Sharma opened for the first time in his career

Indian captain Rohit Sharma ended his century drought during India’s recent ODI series against New Zealand. And exactly ten years ago, he opened for the first time in ODIs on January, 2013, against England in Mohali.

Rohit made his debut in 2007 but struggled in the early stages of career while batting in the middle order. He was also ignored for the squad selection for the 2011 World Cup after his poor form with a bat. But Indian captain MS Dhoni took a big decision to send Rohit to open an innings during a five-match home ODI series against England in 2013 and the latter made a big impact.

After failing to find a spot in the first three ODIs, Rohit fount an opportunity in the playing XI for the fourth ODI in Mohali. Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first with Rohit coming in place of Ajinkya Rahane. Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma took two wickets each to restrict England to 257/7 in 50 overs.

The 25-year-old batter opened an innings alongside Gautam Gambhir but the latter departed early with just 20 runs on the scoreboard. India also lost Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh cheaply but Rohit stood firm against the English bowling attack. He formed a crucial 68-run stand for the fourth wicket with Suresh Raina.

Rohit scored 83 off 93 before getting out on Steven Finn’s delivery in the 32nd over. He smashed 11 fours and a six to drag India closer to the target. Raina stole the show with 89* off 79 to guide the Men in Blue to a five-wicket win with 15 balls remaining and sealed a 3-1 series win for the hosts. However, Rohit scored just four runs in the fifth and final match in the series while opening the innings as India lost the game. But Rohit’s 83-run knock turned his fortunes as the innings sealed his place in the team as the opener.