Rohit Sharma becomes the third player to reach 5,000 IPL runs

Rohit Sharma among the top three

Rohit Sharma can be deemed as one of the IPL legends. With 5000 IPL runs, 5 IPL trophies, out of which 4 have been as a captain, there is nothing that can keep him away from being termed as a legend. With a boundary off Mohammed Shami’s first ball, Rohit went past 5,000 IPL runs and became the third batsman in the league to reach the milestone. Rohit is the slowest among the three, but nothing separates him from the others. Virat Kohli leads the chart with 5,430 and is closely followed by Suresh Raina who has accrued 5,368 runs.

Rohit Sharma levelled with Suresh Raina

Rohit Sharma got to 5,000 IPL runs and then with a half-century, he is now leveled with Suresh Raina for most 50+ scores. By virtue of a 45-ball 70, Rohit got to his 39th score of over 50. He has 38 half-centuries and 1 century to his name. As a captain, Rohit is now in equal terms with David Warner, who also has 21 scores of over 50. In the all-time list of 50+ scorers, Rohit with 39 is at third spot alongside Raina. Warner leads the list registering 48 scores of over 50 with Virat Kohli trailing behind crossing the 50-run mark 41 times.

Second-most runs conceded by a spinner in the last over

Bowling a spinner in the last over of the innings is always a gamble. In addition to that, bowling an off-spinner against two right-handed batsmen could prove to be fatal which KL Rahul would have realized by now. With Sheldon Cottrell finishing his spell before the start of the 16th over, KL Rahul was left with Jimmy Neesham and Mohammed Shami amongst the pacers for the last 5 overs and one over of Krishnappa Gowtham. Neesham and Shami, left with two overs each, finished their spell by the 19th over, leaving Gowtham the 20th over. He conceded 25 runs in the 20th over as Kieron Pollard smashed 3 sixes off the last three balls after Hardik Pandya struck a maximum off the second ball. The 25 runs conceded by Gowtham is the second-most by a spinner in the last over of innings. David Hussey against Mumbai Indians in 2013 at Wankhede conceded 27 runs off the last over, which is the most by a spinner.

Hardik and Pollard show

Among the most hard-hitting batting duos, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard are certainly at the top. Overall in IPL, these two in partnership have scored over 700 runs at a strike rate of 178.9, which is the best for a pair which has faced over 350 balls in IPL. Today as well, they notched up a 67-run partnership off 23 balls at a strike rate of 291.3 for the fifth wicket. Hardik and Pollard in total, have posted 419 runs for the fifth wicket. The 419 runs in their partnership is the third most for the fifth wicket in IPL.

Mumbai Indians register their biggest win against Kings XI Punjab

Losing their star batsmen, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul within the first 10 overs dented Kings XI Punjab’s chances of chasing 192. On the other hand, a sensational innings from the Mumbai Indians’ skipper, Rohit Sharma and cameos from Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya in the last 4 overs handed Mumbai a 48-run victory. Prior to this match, Mumbai’s biggest win against Punjab was in 2016 when they defended 190 by 25 runs. Today’s 48-run victory marks their biggest margin of victory against Punjab in IPL