The last three seasons have been extremely tough with the bat for Rohit Sharma who did lead his franchise Mumbai Indians to two title victories. During the same period, he didn’t get to bat much in his prime positions due to an increase in younger Indian talent. This hasn’t made Rohit replicate some of his brilliant performances for which he was known for. There were times when Rohit Sharma used to take the game away from opposition’s grasp in the IPL and even made a case of being the best finisher in the history of the tournament.

Here we look at five knocks of Rohit Sharma in the IPL that helped his team to register stunning victories:

5. 87 (48) vs Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai, 2011

Mumbai Indians hosted Chennai Super Kings during the 2011 season game at the Wankhede. It was the first time the two sides clashed off since featuring in 2010 IPL final which CSK won. On a lively pitch, the MI lost their both openers for only 13 runs despite playing 3.4 overs. Rohit Sharma, walking out to bat for the first time in an MI-CSK clash, smashed three fours in the first four balls he faced. He found boundaries regularly while the runs dried up from the other end.

He added 61 runs in 7.3 overs with Ambati Rayudu for the 3rd wicket as MI crawled to 74/3 in 11.1 overs. Rohit brought up his fifty in only 31 balls with three successive boundaries off Suraj Randiv spread across two overs. He turned dangerous after his fifty as he raced to 87 from 47 balls by end of 19th over. He was dismissed on the first ball of the 20th over falling 13 short of his maiden IPL century. MI scored 68 runs in their last six overs to finish with 164/4 out of which Rohit scored 41 off 18 balls.

He smashed 8 fours and 5 sixes during his 48-ball 87 but player of the match award went to Harbhajan Singh who claimed a 5-wicket haul. CSK raced to 98/2 by 12th over as MI failed to make use of the swing early before Bhajji took crucial wickets. While Rohit scored runs at a strike rate of 181.25, no other batsman even had 150 SR in the game. In fact, the remaining MI batters collectively scored 63 runs in 72 balls at a poor SR of 87.5. If not for Rohit’s knock, MI would not have reached even 140 let alone getting to the 160-run mark.

4. 68* (38) vs Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala, 2010

Deccan Chargers faced Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala during the 2010 season in their penultimate match. Chargers were in a must-win position having won only six of the 12 matches they played until then. Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 93 from 62 balls and skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s 37-ball 52 powered KXIP to 174/3. The home team smashed 76 runs in the last five overs to set what seemed to be a winning total on a lively pitch with grass coverage.

Deccan wasn’t having great batting depth as 18-year-old Mitchell Marsh and 21-year-old B Sumanth were batting at No.6 and No.7 positions respectively. Hence, the chase was likely to get tricky if DC were four wickets down with considerable runs still to be scored. The DC team collapsed chasing 160 against Rajasthan Royals despite Rohit Sharma staying till the end couple of weeks before this game. Rohit walked to bat in the 7th over when they were 54/2 and in-form Tirumalasetti Suman got off to a flyer.

He showed signs of aggression straight away as he reached 40 from only 22 balls by end of the 13th over. But Suman (43 off 31) and Andrew Symonds (4) departed in space of 9 balls creating a panic in the Chargers’ dugout as they still needed 49 from 33 balls. Rohit raised his fifty off 31 balls during the 17th over but Marsh got out to Yuvraj Singh in the following over after hitting a six. Rohit got to striker’s end to face Irfan Pathan when DC were needed 18 from 11 balls.

He picked up two runs on three consecutive balls and a wide brought down the equation to 11 runs from 8 balls. Sharma did not delay the things and smashed a slower one over the long-on fence for a boundary and levelled the scores by a risky maximum on the final ball. Sumanth hit a boundary off the first ball of the 20th over to seal a 5-wicket win. The chase was never possible without Rohit’s unbeaten 38-ball 68 which included 6 fours and 3 sixes.

3. 79* (39) vs Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai, 2013

Mumbai Indians’ campaign in 2013 IPL was back on track after Rohit Sharma took up the captaincy of the team. MI defeated KKR in Kolkata and thumped RCB at home under the new skipper before hosting the Kings XI Punjab. Rohit elected to bat first after winning the toss which was a rather surprising decision considering the dew factor at the Wankhede in night matches. He walked to bat at No.4 when MI were 43/2 in 7.4 and their run rate was below 6.

A struggling Dwayne Smith got out in the 13th over at the score of 86/3 allowing Kieron Pollard to occupy the crease for a longer period. By the start of 15th over, MI were 102/3 with Rohit just beginning to take off having scored 21 from 20 balls. He struck three sixes and two fours in the next three overs to reach his fifty in only 28 balls. MI yielded only 45 runs between 16th and 19th overs despite Rohit going crazy as Pollard found it tough scoring quickly like their top-3.

Rohit sensed a real chance to do the heavy lifting to Mumbai’s total when the KXIP skipper David Hussey brought himself to bowl the 20th over. The first ball of the over was cleared over the long-on fence but the next one was a dot ball with Hussey bowling yorker length. Sharma cleared mid-wicket and long-on regions to find back to back sixes. He struck fours on the last two balls to yield 29 runs from the over which included a wide.

The big over helped the home side finish on 174/3 with their captain Rohit scored a sensational 79* off 39 balls that featured six fours and as many maximums. On a good batting track, the total of 174 turned out to be enough for MI to win as the Kings XI Punjab made a mockery of the chase. Almost every batsman in their line-up tried for big hits and failed to escape with a positive result. They were bowled out on the last ball of the game at the score of 170.

2. 32* (13) vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Johannesburg, 2009

Deccan Chargers faced Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial match of the 2009 edition. The KKR team posted a solid total of 160/5 all thanks to a 17-ball 43 by David Hussey as they yielded 42 runs from the last two overs. The opening pair of Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs put on 68 for the first wicket but needed 9.2 overs in the chase. In next seven overs, the Chargers could only score 48 runs as Rohit Sharma walked to the crease when the equation read 45 from 22 balls.

Rohit got off the mark with a four on the first ball he faced but the 18th and 19th overs fetched Deccan just 7 and 6 runs respectively. Andrew Symonds was run out in that period leaving DC to chase 21 runs from the last over. Rohit pulled a high full-toss towards the square-leg region for a boundary on the first ball from Mashrafe Mortaza. It was called a no-ball as the trajectory of the ball was over waist height. Rohit picked a leg-bye on free hit while Y Venugopal Rao handed the strike back.

Sharma made most out of another full toss from Mortaza by hitting six when they needed 14 from 4 balls. Mortaza, under pressure, bowled a wide while Rohit picked a couple of the 4th ball. The DC batsman found the fence towards the long-off region on the penultimate ball to level the scores. Mashrafe tried a shorter ball in hope of a tie but Rohit dispatched it for a six to seal a memorable win for Deccan. Rohit finished unbeaten on 32 which came in only 13 balls with three fours and two sixes.

1. 73* (50) vs Deccan Chargers in Vizag, 2012

Vizag stood host for the game between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians during the 2012 season. DC’s Shikhar Dhawan began in an aggressive manner smashing four sixes and two fours during his 24-ball 41. He got out at the score of 46/3 in 7 overs out of which the other DC players scored 5 runs in 3 overs. The home side somehow managed to end up with 138/9 which was believed to be a tricky target considering the venue conditions and a bowling attack that was in form.

Mumbai team scored only 29/2 in the powerplay which was dominated by Dale Steyn whose first spell read 2-1-6-2. Rohit Sharma began cautiously as he needed to make it up for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar. MI’s required rate kept climbing up despite Rohit ensuring the scorecard moved along. Pollard struck three sixes during his 18-ball 24 before getting out in the 17th over. Sharma was batting on 44 from 40 balls when MI needed 38 from three overs.

Rohit showed first signs of aggression in the game by smashing a couple of sixes to Amit Mishra during the 18th over. But Dinesh Karthik struggled while facing Dale Steyn who cleaned up the MI keeper in the 19th over conceding just 5 singles. James Franklin handed strike to Rohit after getting seven runs in his first three balls of the final when they were needed 11 to win. Daniel Christian bowled a low full-toss outside-off which was converted into a six by Sharma.

Rohit picked a risky couple to retain the strike with MI needing three from the last ball. Christian delivered another full-toss on the final ball which Rohit sent over the long-on fence to take MI over the winning line. Rohit ended up with 73* off 50 balls with five sixes. It was the 3rd time where Rohit Sharma finished off a successful chase in the IPL by hitting a six on the last ball. No player other than Rohit till date has even achieved this feat more than once.