India’s dashing opener Rohit Sharma has scripted history in cricket. The swashbuckler has become the first batsman in the history of the game to slam three double centuries in ODIs. Rohit, who is currently leading India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, achieved the remarkable feat in the ongoing 2nd ODI in Mohali.
After losing the toss, India was put into bat by opposition captain Thisara Perera. Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma started off cautiously by scoring less than 40 runs in the first 10 overs. However, the batsmen started opening up once they got set and took the Lankan bowlers to the cleaners. In the process, Rohit Sharma played the second fiddle to Shikhar Dhawan who proved to be the aggressor between the two.
After the departure of Shikhar, Rohit was joined by the young Shreyas Iyer out in the middle. The two batsmen, who represent Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, forged a wonderful partnership and formed the platform to achieve a formidable score. Rohit eventually reached his 16th hundred to surpass Virender Sehwag’s 15 ODI centuries.
The Islanders found it incredibly difficult to contain the Indian skipper once he went past his hundred. He toyed with the bowling as he scored fours and sixes at will. The death overs, especially, saw Rohit Sharma pummel the Sri Lankan bowlers to reach his third double century. This epic feat comes after his previous monstrous innings of 209* and 264 against Australia and Sri Lanka respectively.
Thanks to a superlative 208* from the skipper, the Indian team has managed to put a mammoth 392 on the scoreboard. It will be interesting to see if the Lankans do manage to challenge this score.
