Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma has added another feather to his cap by slamming his 21st ODI century during the fourth ODI against West Indies played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
The Indian limited overs vice-captain was out of form in the second and third ODIs, after hitting a ton in the first ODI. But the Hitman bounced back in style as he reached the three-figure mark in just 98-balls.
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Enroute to his blitzkrieg knock, Rohit Sharma’s innings was laced with 13 boundaries and 1 six. In the process, he also joined an elite club of Indian opening batsmen to have scored the most number of ODI tons. Rohit Sharma sits in second place followed by Sourav Ganguly who both have 19 ODI centuries to their names, while the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar occupies top spot with 45 centuries.
With the five-match series currently tied at 1-1, Virat Kohli had won the toss, and chose to bat first in a crucial encounter. The Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma had started off brightly by building a solid 71-run partnership for the opening wicket. However, West Indies pacer Keemo Paul drew first blood for the visitors by dismissing Dhawan.
More interestingly, Shikhar Dhawan got a taste of his own medicine after being dismissed. The West Indian couldn’t hide his excitement, and went ahead to do the Gabbar celebration in front of Dhawan. Though, instead of taking offence, the left-handed batsman smiled and walked away.
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Virat Kohli, looking to make his fourth consecutive century on the trot, was the next to arrive at the crease. He looked fluent early on, and looked set to create history again. But just when he got going, he was caught by Shai Hope of Kemar Roach’s bowling.
Later, Ambati Rayudu joined Rohit Sharma at the crease to help steer the ship for India. The duo stitched a massive 211-run partnership for the second-wicket. However, while cricketing fans were all waiting in anticipation to witness a double ton from Rohit Sharma, that couldn’t happen after the Indian opener was dismissed for 162 in the 44th over of the innings.