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“I’ve been following his progress for years and have said it openly: in my view, Rohit is the finest one-day cricketer playing today.”
Following India's 31-run victory over Bangladesh, which guaranteed them a spot in the semi-finals, captain Virat Kohli shared these words during the post-match presentation. After witnessing Rohit Sharma's brilliant 104, which further solidified his incredible form, Kohli took the opportunity to praise the 'Hit-man' for his outstanding contribution.Rohit Sharma stretched his good run of form in the tournament further with a superb knock of 104 and Kohli couldn’t help but appreciate the efforts of the ‘Hit-man’.
Everything changed for Rohit when he was moved up to open the batting during the 2013 Champions Trophy. Since that pivotal shift, he has ascended to become one of the premier ODI openers globally. His career has been a sequence of broken records, and his century against the Tigers this past Tuesday added several more achievements to his resume. Here is a breakdown of the milestones he reached during the game:
- By scoring 104 against Bangladesh, Rohit notched his fourth century of the current tournament, making him the first Indian player ever to hit four hundreds in a single World Cup edition.
- He now joins Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka as the only players to have scored four centuries in one World Cup. Sangakkara previously set this benchmark during the 2015 tournament.
- For the third consecutive year, Rohit has surpassed the 1,000-run mark in a calendar year. This feat places him in an exclusive club alongside legends like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
- At 32 years old, Rohit has also become the third player in 2019 to reach 1,000 ODI runs, following in the footsteps of Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch.
- Rohit has become only the second Indian to cross the 500-run threshold in a single World Cup, a rare achievement previously managed only by Sachin Tendulkar in 1996 and 2003.
- His record against Bangladesh continues to be dominant. This century marks his third hundred against them in consecutive ICC ODI tournaments, adding to his 137 at the MCG in the 2015 World Cup and his unbeaten 123 at Edgbaston during the 2017 Champions Trophy.ICC ODI tournaments. Along with this hundred, he had scored 137 against them at the MCG during the 2015 World Cup and 123* at Edgbaston during the 2017 Champions Trophy as well.
- Since January 1, 2017, Rohit has been the most prolific century-maker in ODIs with 16 hundreds. He narrowly edges out Virat Kohli, who has 15, while the rest of the field—including Aaron Finch and Jonny Bairstow—trail significantly with only eight each.
- With this performance, Rohit has now scored six ODI centuries on English soil, tying him with Jason Roy for the second-most in the country. They sit just behind Marcus Trescothick and Joe Root, who lead with eight centuries each.
- Rohit has now entered the elite circle of the most successful World Cup century-makers, joining Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara with five hundreds each, while Sachin Tendulkar remains at the top with six.
- By scoring 104 in Birmingham, Rohit achieved a rare 'hat-trick' of ODI centuries at a single English venue—a first for any player. Additionally, he is only the second Indian to score three centuries at one venue, following Virat Kohli's achievement in Colombo.
Written by: Prasenjit Dey