Indian cricket in ODIs, over the past couple of decades, has been defined by their batters, and more specifically by their openers. The openers are the ones who set the tempo with their attacking flair and aggressive hitting, allowing the rest of the players to follow suit.
Gone are the days when Sunil Gavaskar scored 34 off 174 balls in an ODI match, because this Indian side seems to have a different DNA. The modern Indian batter is all about attack and taking the game to the opposition, piling on as many runs as possible. And two players who have been instrumental in creating that shift in mindset have been Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma.
Arguably two of the finest openers of the 21st century, Sehwag and Rohit have bossed the Indian landscape in the recent past with their breathtaking knocks. There is often a debate on who is the superior batter and who could be classified as a better opener, and today we decided to put an end to that debate with a deep dive into the numbers. Here’s a look at Virender Sehwag vs Rohit Sharma – who is statistically a better ODI opener?
Sehwag’s numbers
The Nawab of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag opened for India in 212 out of the 245 ODI matches he played for the country. He scored 14 hundreds and 35 fifties for India as an opener. Sehwag had an average of 36.5 with a strike rate of 104.71 as India’s opener. He also scored over 1000 boundaries and scored 122 sixes for India as an opener. Sehwag’s highlight as India’s opener was getting that double century against West Indies in 2011, becoming just the second player Internationally after Sachin Tendulkar to record that feat.
Virender Sehwag opened for India for a better part of a decade. He was the Indian opener in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 ODI World Cups, and also the 2007 T20 World Cup. In that period, India won silverware in 2007 and 2011, with Sehwag contributing handsomely to both triumphs. Sehwag famously scored a boundary of every first ball barring the final in the 2011 World Cup. He scored a superb 175 against Bangladesh in the opening game of the tournament, setting the tone for himself and the country. Throughout his tenure as an India player, Sehwag played plenty of clutch knocks for his side, ushering in a new age of the unafraid opener who would just go hell for leather.
Rohit Sharma’s numbers
Hitman Rohit Sharma started his career as a middle-order batter, but sometime in 2013 transitioned to being an opener, and the rest, as they say, is history. Rohit has opened for India in 176 ODIs so far. He has scored 29 hundreds and 44 fifties in that period, including whopping three double centuries. Rohit Sharma has an average of 55.57 with a strike rate of 95.99 for India. He has scored 865 fours and 303 sixes for India in that period.
Numbers aside, Rohit has been a key part of India’s white-ball dominance over the last decade, often showing the way with his aggressive starts. He has an impeccable World Cup record as well, scoring 7 hundreds in 28 innings, which is effectively a hundred every four games. The one trophy that has been elusive for Sharma though has been the ODI World Cup, which has been won by Sehwag.
So comparing by sheer numbers, it seems like Rohit Sharma has a clear edge over his predecessor. However, it is important to remember that cricket has evolved significantly in the past couple of decades, making it difficult to compare players from different generations. What isn’t difficult to conclude though is how both openers have had a telling impact in the success story of the Indian cricket team.
