India, Feb. 13 -- After a hat-trick of disastrous campaigns in 2004, 2006 and 2009, India approached the 2013 Champions Trophy in England with cautious optimism on the back of a 3-2 conquest of England, a series notable for the elevation of Rohit Sharma as permanent white-ball opener.

The experiment to open with the Mumbaikar on the 2010-11 tour of South Africa was jettisoned after three abortive outings, leading to Rohit's exclusion from the 2011 World Cup-winning squad. On his comeback after the World Cup, Rohit blew hot and cold in the middle order until he was pushed back up to open against England in Mohali in January 2013, to which he responded with a match-winning 83.

At the Champions Trophy, Rohit had another relatively new inte...