Rohit Sharma becomes 2nd Indian to hit World Cup century against Pakistan

Indian opener Rohit Sharma continued his sublime form with the bat on Sunday as he became only the second Indian after skipper Virat Kohli to notch up an International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup century against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Image Courtesy: Reuters

Indian opener Rohit Sharma continued his sublime form with the bat on Sunday by becoming only the second Indian after skipper Virat Kohli to notch up an International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup century against arch-rivals Pakistan. 

The 32-year-old brought up his 24th ODI ton off just 85 balls by pulling back a single on the last delivery of the 30th over from Shadab Khan during his side's high-octane clash against Pakistan in the 2019 edition of the mega event at the Old Trafford in Manchester. 

Indian captain Virat Kohli brought up a match-winning knock of 107 runs off 126 balls during India's last clash against Pakistan in the World Cup. He helped India post a mammoth total of 300 runs before the Men in Blue emerged out victorious by 76 runs.

It was Sharma's third century in the World Cup and now, he has joined his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan in the list of the Indian batsmen with the most number of centuries in the tournament. Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar holds the world record with six World Cup tons, while Sourav Ganguly is sitting at the second spot with four centuries to his name in the mega event. 

En route to his knock which was laced with 14 fours and three sixes, Sharma also became the fourth Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to bring up four consecutive 50-plus scores in ODIs. He notched up scores of 95, 56, 122*, 57 in his last four 50-over matches. 

Besides this, Sharma also stitched a huge 136-run stand with KL Rahul (57) for the opening wicket. By doing so, the duo became the first Indian pair to stitch a 100-plus opening stand against Pakistan in a World Cup match.

By bringing his second ton of this year’s World Cup, Sharma also became the fifth Indian batsman to score two or more centuries in a single edition of the quadrennial event. He also broke Mahendra Singh Dhoni's record of most sixes by an Indian in ODIs. Sharma has smashed 356 sixes, surpassing Dhoni's record of 355 sixes. 

The Indian opener eventually fell for 140 after being caught by Wahab Riaz at short fine leg in the 39th over. At the time of filing this report, India had crossed the 240-run mark, with skipper Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya batting in the middle.