Rohit Sharma etched his name in the cricket record books as he became the visiting nation’s batsman with the most ODI centuries as he hit a brilliant hundred at Lord’s on Sunday to help India retain victory in the third ODI of the series against England.The landmark hit was Rohit’s eighth ODI century in England, taking him ahead of India legend Sachin Tendulkar and taking him solo to the top of the all-time elite list.
Visiting countries’ ODIs capped at hundreds
- Rohit Sharma – England 8 years old
- Sachin Tendulkar – 7 UAE
- Saeed Anwar – UAE 7 years old
- AB de Villiers – India 7
- Quinton de Kock – India 7th
This century was another notable addition to Rohit’s glorious ODI legacy. Among all England batsmen, only Joe Root (10) has more ODI hundreds in the country, while former England opener Marcus Trescothick also has eight.The 39-year-old, who has come under intense scrutiny after failing to score more than 50 runs in his eight previous ODI innings and amid speculation over his future, responded most emphaticly with his 34th ODI century at the Home of Cricket.
Lord’s joins Rohit’s long list of milestones
Rohit also broke several records at the iconic venue during these innings.At the age of 39 years and 80 days, he became the oldest batsman to hit an ODI century at Lord’s and the oldest Indian batsman to hit an international century in all formats.More importantly, Rohit became the first Indian batsman to score an ODI hundred at Lord’s, surpassing Sourav Ganguly’s 90 against England in 2004, which was India’s highest individual ODI score at the stadium in more than two decades.The milestone was in Rohit’s signature style. Facing Adil Rashid in the 31st over, the India opener swept a corner delivery for four to register his century. The entire Indian dressing room, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, erupted in applause as the ball sailed towards the boundary. Rohit received a standing ovation from the packed crowd before being warmly embraced by Virat Kohli.It was a cagey game that started cautiously and then developed into old-fashioned Rohit stroke play, silencing the critics who were questioning his place after a long stretch of exhaustion.
England’s goal tally reaches record high before Rohit responds
Earlier, England posted a daunting ODI total of 387/3, the highest ever recorded at Lord’s.Ben Duckett scored a brilliant 141 to become the sixth batsman to score a Test match and ODI century at Lord’s, while Jacob Bethell scored 91 runs in an opening partnership of 192 runs.Joe Root continued his remarkable consistency, extending his unbeaten run in the series to 249 runs while becoming the first England batsman to score six consecutive ODI 50+ runs. Jos Buttler then scored an unbeaten 41 off just 13 balls as England scored 63 runs off the last 19 balls.The final blitz also created the fastest fifty-plus partnership against India in ODI history, with Root and Buttler scoring 19.89.
