Rohit Sharma, over the years, has played some of the most beautiful knocks ever known to mankind, and that too on the biggest of stages in cricket.
Be it for the Indian national team or for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sharma has always stepped up to be the undisputed king of big matches.
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Sharma has six IPL trophies under his belt, five of which came under his captaincy for the Mumbai Indians. Even if he couldn't contribute with the bat each time, his on-field decisions changed the course of the match, which demonstrates the veteran's excellent game-reading abilities.
The batter scored a brilliant 81 off 61 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Eliminator of the IPL 2025, which laid the foundation for the other batters to play their natural game. Mumbai eventually went on to win the match, with Sharma bagging the Player of the Match (POTM).
The Sporting News takes a look at the details regarding why Sharma can be regarded as the undisputed king of big matches.
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Why can Rohit Sharma be called the undisputed king of big matches?
Sharma has a knack for performing when the stakes are high, just as he proved his worth against Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator match of the 18th edition. Sharma's 81 helped Mumbai to build on the start provided by the veteran alongside Jonny Bairstow, as they posted a target of 229 for Gujarat to chase.
Mumbai won the match by 20 runs, and the 38-year-old was again adjudged the POTM. Sharma had only three fifties so far this season, but he lit up on a day when the stakes were high, proving his mettle once again.
There have been other instances too where Sharma had performed on the biggest of stages, and that too under tremendous pressure. Check out the tweet below.
- POTM in 2015 WC Quarter Final.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 31, 2025
- POTM in 2015 IPL Final.
- POTM in 2017 CT Semi Final.
- POTM in 2025 CT Final.
- POTM in 2025 IPL Eliminator.
ROHIT SHARMA - The man for Big moments. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/MA821rTgbx
Interestingly, Sharma has bagged the POTM many a time on the big stage. In 2015, Sharma played a brilliant knock of 137 off 126 deliveries against Bangladesh in the Quarter Finals of the ODI World Cup, which earned him his first POTM in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
In the same year, he scored an exquisite 50 off just 26 deliveries against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL final, which helped them post a competitive total of 202. Mumbai went on to win the match, and Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match once again.
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In the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal against Bangladesh, Sharma remained unbeaten at a score of 123, as he, along with Virat Kohli, chased down a target of 265 in just 40.1 overs to send India to the finals of the tournament, which they eventually lost to Pakistan.
Sharma rolled back the years when he decided to step up in another important Champions Trophy game, as he played an important knock of 78 off 83, balls which eased India's run chase against New Zealand, in turn handing them their second ICC trophy in a span of 8 months.
The Mumbaikar continues to prove his worth when it matters the most, as the Paltan army will be hoping for their 'undisputed king of big matches' to continue his wrath with the bat against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2.