CWC 2019: Rohit Sharma joins legends with record-breaking century
Indian opener Rohit Sharma recorded his fourth century in the 2019 World Cup and broke plenty of records in doing so. The unstoppable Hitman has been in a splendid form throughout the tournament and has ensured that India has not missed injured Shikhar Dhawan so far. Rohit’s knock of 104 against Bangladesh at Edgbaston today helped India post a healthy score of 314/9 on a pitch that was fast losing its life.
After being dropped by Tamim Iqbal on the score of nine, Rohit put his head down and took control of the innings. He was severe on anything short and displayed his mastery over the pull shot whenever the opportunity presented itself. In his 92-ball 104 studded with seven fours and five sixes, Rohit joined a list of legends. Here are a few records that the Hitman achieved.
The 500-run club
With 104 runs in this innings, Rohit crossed the tally of 500 runs in the 2019 World Cup. The 32-year old became the second Indian batsman to achieve this feat. Previously, only Sachin Tendulkar had crossed the 500-run mark in the World Cup. The legend had scored 673 runs in 2003 and 523 runs in 1996. In the current tournament, Australian opener David Warner is the only other batsman to score 500 or more runs. He has scored 516 runs so far.
Chasing Sangakkara
So far, Rohit has celebrated four centuries in the current World Cup. He has equalled Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara’s record of scoring four hundreds in a single edition of the tournament. The left-hander had ticked them off in consecutive matches of the 2015 World Cup.
The elite company
Overall, this was the fifth century in the World Cup for the three-time double centurion. The record for the most centuries in the quadrennial event belongs to Sachin, who went past hundred runs six times. Rohit now joins Sangakkara and Australia’s Ricky Ponting, who have five centuries in the World Cup.
Hat-trick of hundreds
The explosive opener became the first batsman to score consecutive hundreds at a particular venue in England. His first century in this sequence came against Bangladesh in the 2017 Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham. He scored 102 against England on this very venue and completed a hat-trick with the knock of 104 runs today.
The opening salvo
Before Rohit was dismissed, he and his opening partner KL Rahul added 180 runs for the first wicket. This is now the highest opening partnership for India in the World Cup. The previous record belonged to Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan. The phenomenal pair had put on 174 runs for the first wicket against Ireland at Hamilton in the 2015 World Cup.
