On Wednesday, he showed his class with a breezy knock that left SRH scratching their heads and on the brink.
Rohit Sharma struck a scintillating 70 off 46 balls to guide Mumbai Indians (MI) to a dominant seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash on Wednesday.
The victory, sealed with 26 balls to spare, marked MI's fifth of the season and propelled them to third place in the points table.
What we witnessed on Sunday against CSK, was Rohit coming back to form.
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But on Wednesday, he showed his class with a breezy knock that left SRH scratching their heads and on the brink.
The former MI captain came in as an Impact Sub for Vignesh Puthur.
He put on two solid partnerships, first with Will Jacks and then with Suryakumar Yadav to see MI home.
SRH's poor batting display at the top saw a rescue act by Heinrich Klaasen, who hit a counter-attacking 71 and Abhinav Manohar's 46, as they put on 143 for 8.
Rohit came out to open along with Rickelton and he looked in prime touch from the get go.
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In just his third delivery, off the bowling of Cummins, he picked the length ball and pulled it brilliantly over square for his first six of the match.
He touched a milestone off the very next ball -- pulling the short ball for a four to fine leg and logging 12,000 runs in T20 cricket.
Rohit was fluent in his innings, and without a hint of doubt he moved along like a well-oiled machine.
He didn't pick just one SRH bowler for a treatment but treated all their bowlers with equal disdain.
Rohit did not rely on big hits alone, but also ran between the wickets while playing the ball with soft hands.
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Spin or seam, there was no let up from the veteran who also slog swept spinner Zeeshan Ansari for a six over wide long-on.
He brought up his 50 off just 35 balls -- his 45th IPL half ton -- in the 11th over when he clipped the ball to wide long on for a single. This is the first time in NINE years that Rohit has hit back-to-back 50s.
Although his innings comprised 8 fours and three sixes, it was a truly composed knock, unlike what we witnessed in the first few matches this season, innings filled with doubt.
On Wednesday, the 38-year-old's shot selection was spot on and although he was going at a strike rate of over 200 at one point, he then paced his innings well to take it completely away from SRH.
With the match nearly in the bag, Rohit was finally dismissed in the 15th over by Eshan Malinga, caught at mid-wicket for 70 off 46 balls.
His strike rate of 152 belied his batting approach on the night -- plain effortless, that was pleasing to the eye.
Rohit has peaked at the right time, which augurs well for the former champions.
Former India opener Kris Srikkanth doffed his hat to Rohit post the match, tweeting: 'What a knock and what a time to come into form! If this guy is in the wicket for more than 6 overs then God help the opposition! There is a reason why he's a legend and he just showed all of us why? Good luck SRH next year! #SRHvsMI #RohitSharma'
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