PIX: Rohit completes ODI milestone before being stumped out

Rohit Sharma took to the attack in the opening ten overs

IMAGE: Rohit Sharma took to the attack in the opening ten overs. Photograph: Satish Kumar/Reuters

Rohit Sharma brought the crowds at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai on their feet scoring a half-ton in no time in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday.

Scorecard

Chasing 252 for victory, India got off to a flyer as Rohit smashed the bowling to all over the park.

It was pure entertainment on Rohit's part as India brought up their 50 in the 8th over before logging 64 runs at the end of the first Powerplay.

Fellow opener Shubman Gill was a mere spectator as Rohit sent the ball to all corners of the ground and eventually brought up his 50 in the 11th over.

Rohit Sharma celebrates his half-ton

IMAGE: Rohit Sharma celebrates his half-ton, his 58th in ODIs. Photograph: Satish Kumar/Reuters

His 58th ODI half-ton came in 41 balls. It also happens to be his first half century in an ICC tournament final.

After 15 overs, Rohit had raced to 65 off 55 balls with seven fours and three sixes with his deputy Shubman Gill playing second fiddle to perfection with 23 off 35 balls with one six.

Rohit continued with his ultra aggressive approach as he hit a couple of fours off William O'Rourke after hitting Kyle Jamieson for a six in the first over.

But he took a liking for Nathan Smith -- who replaced Matt Henry -- in the eighth over, hitting the right-arm medium fast for 14 runs with two fours and a six.

Rohit Sharma completed 2500 runs in ODIs as captain

IMAGE: Rohit Sharma completed 2500 runs in ODIs as captain. Photograph: Satish Kumar/Reuters

Rohit continued to put the pressure on the Kiwis hitting boundaries and rotating the strike before completing a milestone.

En route his innings he got to 2500 ODI runs as skipper of the Indian team.

But soon after Gill and Kohli were taken out by Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell in two overs, the spinners kept the pressure on Rohit and Shreyas Iyer.

With runs tightening, Rohit tried to go down the pitch and loft Rachin Ravindra for a big one but he missed and Tom Latham executed an easy stumping, sending the Indian skipper packing.

Social media was abuzz that this could be Rohit's final appearance in an ODI.

Given Rohit's return to form and stroke-making tonight, it will be a folly on the Indian captain's part if he decides to hang his boots.

Earlier in the day, Rohit's former coach Dinesh Lad was quoted by ANI as saying: "I want Rohit Sharma to play the 2027 ODI World Cup and then retire," he said, indicating that he believes Rohit has more to offer before calling time on his illustrious career.