PBKS vs MI: Rohit Sharma joins MS Dhoni at the top before Virat Kohli in landmark achievement

Former Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma has created history with his participation in the 33rd match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) against the Sam Curran-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday, April 18, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.

Rohit Sharma has joined MS Dhoni in an elite list, becoming just the second player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to feature in 250 matches. The right-handed batsman has been one of the top performers in the cash-rich league and has established his legacy as one of the all-time greats.

The 36-year-old started his IPL career in 2008 with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC) before moving bases to the Mumbai Indians (MI). He was handed the leadership of Mumbai Indians in 2013 and the star batter changed the fortunes of the franchise by leading them to five IPL titles - the most in the history of the marquee tournament.

He was replaced as the captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 as the franchise brought back all-rounder Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans (GT) to hand him over the leadership - the decision which has received a lot of criticism from fans and experts.

Overall, Rohit Sharma played 158 matches as the captain in the IPL, winning 87, losing 67 and 4 ending in a tie. His win percentage of 56.32 is only bettered by MS Dhoni (59.37) among the captains with 100 or more matches.

Without the leadership burden, Rohit Sharma has done a brilliant job as a batsman in the Indian Premier League 2024. He has provided Mumbai Indians with flying starts and has already scored 261 runs, which is the highest for him in the first six matches of a season. Rohit Sharma has dominated both pace (strike rate - 173.63) and spin-bowling (strike rate - 152.17) and has an overall strike rate of 167.31 in IPL 2024. 

Rohit Sharma Joins MS Dhoni In Elite List Of Players With 250 Matches in IPL

MS Dhoni sits at the top of the list with 256 IPL games that he played for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. Following him on the list are Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja in the top five.

List Of Players With the Most IPL Matches 

256 - MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings & Rising Pune Supergiant)

250 - Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers & Mumbai Indians)

249 - Dinesh Karthik (Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru & Gujarat Lions)

244 - Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

232 - Ravindra Jadeja (Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings & Gujarat Lions)

Talking about Rohit Sharma's batting record, he is the fourth-highest run-getter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history only behind Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, and David Warner. In 244 innings, Rohit Sharma has scored 6472 runs with the best score of 109*. He averages 30.10 with the bat and has a strike rate of 131.22.

Rohit Sharma would be looking forward to continuing his momentum with the bat against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) after smashing a sensational ton in the losing cause against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the previous match of the Mumbai Indians (MI).  

Overall, Rohit Sharma has got a good record against the Punjab Kings as in 30 IPL matches, the right-handed batsman has scored 812 runs at a good average of 32.48 and a strike rate of 140.24.