The World Cup 2023 caravan, in its majestic and triumphant colour of BLUE, has reached the spiritual abode of cricket - Mumbai. And so has The Hitman - on a smashing spree. Thursday, November 2, will see Ro-Hit Sharma come home, for his first ever World Cup game on home turf.

In the build-up to this historic event, we dig into the archives to celebrate our skipper’s career at the Wankhede Stadium.

The First Dance

2006: The first innings that brought him into the spotlight. Coming to bat at number five, the 19-year-old belted a majestic 205 in 267 balls against Gujarat in the 2006/07 Ranji Trophy Super League. This innings - packaged with 20 fours and three sixes - would put him right on the radar of the selectors, and marked him out for bigger things. 

2007: A year after his carnage in the Ranji Trophy, Ro made his T20 debut in the Mumbai colours. Starting with a spell of 3/15 and then an unbeaten 40 off 37 balls against Baroda in the Inter-State Twenty-20 Tournament, the chronicle of a legend-in-the-making OFFICIALLY began.

2011: After three years in away territory, the prodigal son returned HOME. Rohit returned the love with scores of 87 vs Chennai Super Kings and 58 vs Rajasthan Royals in his first season with Mumbai Indians.

RO-mance with Wankhede: The International Cricket Version

2012: Fast forward to December 2012, Rohit stepped onto the lush greens of the Wankhede Stadium for his first-ever international match for the Indian cricket team - the second IND vs ENG T20I of the 2012 England tour of India.

2013: However, he formally ANNOUNCED himself at the Wankhede in 2013. Months after leading Mumbai Indians to their maiden Indian Premier League trophy, the Hitman would smash his second successive Test century (111 not out) against West Indies in November - which would be Sachin Tendulkar’s final outing in the Test whites. His 11 fours and three sixes were the catalysts in India’s match-defining score of 495 runs in the first innings.

2019: In 2016, Rohit’s 31-ball 43 went in vain against West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup semis fixture at the Wankhede. Three years later, he would redeem himself with a 34-ball 71 - infused with six fours and five sixes - that set the stage for India to clinch a 2-1 series win at the Wankhede Stadium and paint smiles of 30,000-plus Indian cricket fans at the venue BLUE.

World Cup and Wankhede, a new checkpoint for Captain RO

With the weight of almost 1.5 billion enthusiastic cricket fans on his shoulders, Rohit Sharma takes on a new challenge as a skipper in his storied career - captaining India for an ODI World Cup game at the Wankhede Stadium.

And if it couldn’t be any more poetic, the Hitman will lead India at his spiritual sanctuary for only the second time against a familiar opponent - Sri Lanka. When the teams met in a 2017 T20I match, Rohit oversaw his Men in Blue chase a target of 136 with five wickets in hand and four balls to spare. And now, given the red-hot form he is in, can the Paltan expect a Ro-HIT special on his first ODI game as captain at the Wankhede?

Rohit Sharma’s record at Wankhede Stadium

Captaincy record