This morning
I posted about the comeback of Rohit Sharma – and the way he is being welcomed
– with Virat Kohli hailing him as probable X factor in World Cup – resting
prolific Shikhar Dhawan, dropping Murali
Vijay without a chance and making run maker Ajinkya Rahane and century maker
Ambati Rayudu on tenterhooks.
13th Nov 14 was
destined to be different for those who watched at Kolkatta and for the player
himself. Kohli won the toss, decided to bat - Angelo
Mathews bowled the second over - it was 2; 0;0;0;0;0 – certainly no indicator
of what were to happen. The carnage ! – the 27-year-old was caught at long-off from the
final ball of the innings, looking for the boundary that would have levelled
the List A record of 268, set by Ali Brown of Surrey against Glamorgan in 2002. Before 2010, no batsman had passed 200 in
2,961 previous one-day internationals, today it is the fourth 200 in four years, all of which
have been made by India batsmen in India.
It is all about Rohit
Sharma
and today his first ODI in 10-weeks
began with a touch of nerves. He was even kept scoreless in one Angelo Mathews maiden.
By the end of the innings, there was no shot he had not played. No part of the
ground he had not exploited. No bowler who escaped his brutality. Rohit amassed
45 more runs than any ODI batsman had ever managed in an innings, finishing on 264 from 173 balls when he was finally
caught off the last ball of the innings.
Rohit's innings was so outrageous that the
first 100 runs, which were hit at a run-a-ball, seem achingly humdrum in comparison
to the 164 that followed, reports Cricinfo. There were many incredible shots,
from among his 33 fours and nine sixes, but the
most gobsmacking was the six off Kulasekara at the end of the 48th over, when
he walked across to off stump, took a half volley from about a foot and half
away from him and flicked it high over the midwicket boundary. It was the kind
of shot, and innings, that seemed in open defiance of physics.
The highest
individual score had progressed – for sometime it was Glen Turner’s 171 made in
1st WC; then Kapil Dev made 175 n.o in 1983 WC; Richards made 189; Saeed
Anwar 194 at Chepauk ….. Sachin first
breached 200; Sehwag upstaged him……….. now it is 264 from the boy who already
has a double ton in ODI against Aussies.
By the time Rohit hit
Kulasekara down Mahela Jayawardene's throat at long off, the record for most
fours struck in an innings had also tumbled, and Rohit was in possession of
half the ODI scores over 200. One record he missed out on by one delivery, was
Sunil Gavaskar's record for most balls faced. Gavaskar had made 36 not out. Rohit Sharma RG Sharma © Jayawardene b Kulasekara- 264 off 173 balls –
33 fours and 9 sixers.
The man who had scored 268
in class A - AD Brown played 16 One day internationals for England ~ made one
century and retired in 2011 ending his 22 year country cricket career. Rohit
with this innings has sky-rocketed way above people and would end up much much
higher. Great innings indeed...
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
Photo credit : BCCI
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