India captain Rohit Sharma surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most runs as Indian ODI captain. MS Dhoni tops the list, while Virat Kohli stands second on the elite list.
India captain Rohit Sharma played a vital knock of 76 runs off 83 balls in the Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand. Chasing 251 runs, the target could have been tricky with spinners dominating but the 37-year-old, who was subjected to immense criticism for his form, rose to the occasion and played a meticulous knock to give the team a perfect start.
Meanwhile, with the knock, Rohit now surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most runs by an Indian as captain in ODI cricket. 2011 World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni tops the list with Virat Kohli being the second on the spot. Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are placed third, fourth and fifth respectively.
| Name | Runs as ODI captain |
| MS Dhoni | 6641 |
| Virat Kohli | 5449 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 5239 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 5104 |
| Rahul Dravid | 2658 |
| Rohit Sharma | 2503 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2454 |
Rohit moved to number six after the terrific knock. He delivered when it mattered the most and helped the team start well, especially after Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli departed early.
After his dismissal, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel took control of the situation and stitched a 61-run partnership. Iyer kept the scoreboard ticking with occasional boundaries while Axar focused more on singles and doubles. Notably, the prior was looking in excellent touch before losing his wicket after scoring 48 runs. He looked well-settled before Mitchell Santner dismissed him.
Soon after his dismissal, Axar too made his way back to the pavilion after scoring 29 runs. It put the Men in Blue under pressure as they were reduced to 203/5.
Notably, the Kiwis struggled to rotate strike while batting in the middle order and that also kept them under pressure in the second innings. They were arguably 15-20 runs short with the bat and had they scored that many, India would have been under more pressure in the second innings. They now depend heavily on KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to seal them through.