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Smashing 119 off 90 balls, Rohit Sharma showcased his vintage form while batting against England during the 2nd ODI at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. In the process, the Indian skipper also managed to break quite a few records, one of which took him past ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar.
Following his blistering century, the 37-year-old now holds the most international centuries, 36 in number, by an Indian after turning 30 years of age, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 35 centuries. The only two Indian players behind these two are Rahul Dravid with 26 centuries and Virat Kohli’s 18 tons. Moreover, he now only trails Kumar Sangakkara’s 43 number of post-30 centuries on the international stage.
Further, Sharma’s century at Cuttack, also made him the first player to score 22 centuries in ODI cricket in the 30 and beyond age group. Globally, he is now ahead of Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilakartene Dilshan’s 21 centuries after 30.
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Meanwhile, his ODI century at the Barabati Stadium was his first in the format since October 2023 and 32nd overall, making him only behind Virat Kohli’s 50 and Tendulkar’s ODI Centuries. Unfortunately, he was dismissed by a delivery from Liam Livingstone when he was just 13 runs shy of crossing 11,000 ODI runs.
Regardless, his aggressive batting, boasting a strike rate of 132.22, showcased a timely return to form ahead of February’s 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
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Moreover, this aggression from Sharma extended beyond the bat as well. During India’s chase, he angrily signalled the stadium DJ to shut the music, following a 25-minute floodlight delay that paused play at 48/0. Earlier, he had also reprimanded KL Rahul and Axar Patel for a missed DRS call and then Harshit Rana for an overthrow.
