Rohit Sharma The Master of Double Centuries
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The modern game of cricket has introduced us to strike rates of over 130+ plus, thanks to the T20 cricket that is spreading like wildfire. With reduced boundaries, flat batting wickets, and improving cricketing bats, the One Day International cricket has become a nightmare to even the best bowlers around the world. This statement is no way to undermine the glories of supermen like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Over 2399 players have featured in the ODI game of cricket. And only 5 of them managed to achieve a double century (200) feat 7 times in ODI cricket.
Out of the 5 who achieved that feat, three of them are from India; ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar, ‘Dashing Opener’ Virender Sehwag and ‘Stroke Maker’ Rohit Sharma. The other two are Martin Guptill (New Zealand) and Chris Gayle (West Indies).
While Rohit Sharma has 3-double centuries to his name, the rest four have one each to their name. This shows the impact Rohit has brought on the statisticians. In more expressive terms, we can say, Rohit Sharma scored 3-double centuries, while the rest of 2398 ODI men players managed to score 4-double centuries.
Following are Rohit Sharma’s three double centuries:
- 209 of 158 Balls vs Australia, Bengaluru, Nov 2nd, 2013 (M Chinnaswamy)
- 264 of 173 Balls vs Sri Lanka, Kolkata, Nov 13th, 2014 (Eden Gardens)
- 208* of 153 Balls vs Sri Lanka, Mohali, Dec 13th, 2017 (IS Bindra Stadium)
208 vs Australia, Nov 2nd, 2013
The final match of the 7Match – ODI Series between India and Australia took place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After Australia won the toss, they choose to field first. Rohit Sharma opened the innings along with ‘Gabbar’ S Dhawan. Little did the visitors know about the upcoming threat.
What seemed like an orthodox ODI innings, suddenly erupted and exploded into a fascinating display of batting in the modern times of cricket. Rohit Sharma took as many as 71 balls to reach his 50 in this innings. But post that, he gradually paced his innings and reached his century in just 112 balls, taking 43 balls for his second 50.
Post that, it was nothing but sheer destruction. It was so horrific that, the Australian bowlers had to meetings longer than the overtimes. There were alot of doubts on Rohit Sharma’s batting technique coming into this match. But then captain MS Dhoni’s persistence with Rohit Sharma paid off. The innings of 209 stood as a hallmark of what a player of Rohit Sharma’s class can achieve by sticking to the plans.
There was not even a hint of wild swing or slog sweep from the bat of Rohit. Every ball was timed as if it was waiting for. Every ball seemed happy crossing the boundary, as it gets some rest from the beating. This innings clearly set the ‘Template’ for his batting. Take a look at the milestones he has achieved in this match:
- 50 runs of 71 Balls in 24th Over
- 101 runs of 116 Balls in 38th Over
- 150 runs of 140 Balls in 46th Over
- 203 runs of 156 Balls in 50th
He innings ended after he holed out to Henriques (who actually dropped Rohit Sharma at 120) at fine leg after scoring 209 runs off 158 balls with 12 fours and 16 sixes.
264 vs Sri Lanka, Nov 13th, 2014
This time the victims were our fellow Lankans sitting right down at the tip of the Indian peninsula. This match not only witnessed the 2nd double century by Rohit Sharma but also saw him past the highest score in ODI’s at that time (219 by Virender Sehwag). Angelo Mathews kept Rohit Sharma at the same end by bowling a maiden at him. But at the end of the innings, the Lanka bowlers faces have been in despair and shock.
November 13th, 2014, was undoubtedly one of the black days of Sri Lanka Cricket. The 11 players collectively failed to even surpass the score of Rohit Sharma alone. With Rohit’s 264, India posted a mammoth 404/5 on the board, while Sri Lanka was rattled out for 251 in 43.1 overs. The scorecard read like, Rohit Sharma win by 13 runs, and India win by 153 runs.
This innings saw the ball going across the boundary line for 42 times, 33 fours and 9 mammoth sixes. There was not even an inch of grass on the field that failed to take the beating along with the ball. The bowlers were scared to look the trajectory after the ball left the bat. Even if they did, their eyes only ended up in the sea of fans sitting behind the boundary lines. The innings comes in the first match Rohit Sharma played after the 10-week layoff after he fractured his finger. Interestingly, his 50 comes off 72 balls, a ball more in comparison to his first 50 runs in his 209 against Australia. Following is the batting template of Rohit Sharma in this innings:
- 50 runs of 72 Balls in 24th Over
- 100 runs of 100 Balls in 32ndOver
- 151 runs of 125 Balls in 39th Over
- 201runs of 151 Balls in 46th
- 250 runs of 166 Balls in 49th Over
Rohit Sharma got out to the last ball of the Indian innings after he hit the ball flat to Jayawardene at long off. He scored 264 runs off 173 balls with 33 fours and 9 sixes. With this double hundred, he became the only batsman in the history of the game to score 2-double hundreds and the first (and the only) to pass the 250-run mark in ODI cricket.
Rohit Sharma will clearly be remembered in Eden Gardens, Kolkata as long as Sourav Ganguly will be remembered.
208* vs Sri Lanka, Dec 13th, 2017
If South Africa are chokers, then Sri Lankans are refuges of Rohit Sharma’s batting. Rohit Sharma has scored his third double century and his second against the Lankans. Though the visitor’s team is a lot different from the one that toured India in 2014, the memories of that night evening still haunted them. This time, the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium became the witness for yet another humiliation of the re-building Lankan team
The only relief for the Sri Lankan bowlers in this match was, Rohit scored 58 runs lesser than the score he made after he reached his 2nd double century. If someone has been closely watching his previous 2 double hundreds, it’s clear that he is extremely watchful in the first 10 overs, and starts pacing up his innings with timely boundaries in the next 30 overs and comes down with a belligerent assault in the last 10. This has been his batting template and I believe it will remain so.
This double ton comes after India was shut for a mere 112 runs in the first ODI of the 3-match series. No wonder the balls flew in the air for a longer time than they were on the field. Rohit targeted his beloved mid-wicket area and amassed as many as 80 runs between the deep square leg and straight of the wicket. Interestingly, 144 of his 208 runs came on the square on either side of the wicket.
Surprisingly, half of his 208 runs came in the last 10 overs. This shows to what kind of assault the Lankan bowlers; the victims were subjected to. The Lankan bowlers tried to take off the pace of the ball, given Mohali’s large boundaries. This only added salt to their injuries. The slower balls were nicely deposited along the fine leg and mid-wicket area, while the overpitched delivers found the straight boundaries more comfortable. With Rohit’s superman effort, India ended their innings at 392/4 at the end of 50 overs, from 33/0 at the end of 10 overs. This is the only match where Rohit has completed his first 50 runs in less than 70 balls and ending up scoring a double century.
Following is the batting template of Rohit Sharma in this match:
- 50 runs of 65 Balls in 24th Over
- 100 runs of 115 Balls in 40thOver
- 152 runs of 133 Balls in 45th Over
- 201 runs of 151 Balls in 50th
Rohit Sharma scored 107 runs in the last 37 balls he has faced. He got his last 100 runs in just 36 balls. The elegant right-hander has scored 25 boundaries in all with 14 fours and 12 sixes to his name. This innings clearly shows what a batsman can achieve if they stick on to their plans, without throwing their wicket away.
Surprisingly, December 13th was also Rohit Sharma’s marriage anniversary. His wife was seen on the big screen with her fingers crossed and tensed while Rohit neared his double century in the last over of the Indian innings. Rohit Sharma became the only ODI batsman to score 3-Double Centuries. He also set a record for most number of sixes (45) in ODIs in a calendar year.
