On This Day: Rohit Sharma's first-ever double century in ODIs
On November 2, 2013, Rohit Sharma scored his first double century in ODI cricket against Australia in the final ODI of their series. Take a look back at it.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
'The Hitman' Rohit Sharma just announced himself onto the Test match stage last month when he scored 500 runs in three Test matches against the Proteas and broke all kinds of records while doing so. But Rohit has been a 'Hitman' for almost a decade now. The flamboyant batsman, who announced his arrival in Indian cricket all the way back in the T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa, is also the only batsman in the world to have scored three ODI double-hundreds. Today, we take a look at the first double-hundred of Rohit's career which came on November 2, 2013.
A sign of what was to come
On the Diwali eve of 2013, India walked into the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to play the seventh and the final ODI of their home series against Australia. Except a cancelled match and a no result, both teams had won two matches in the seven-match ODI series. Therefore, this match became an important series-deciding encounter for both teams and the crowd in Bengaluru was ready to witness it. After Australia captain George Bailey won the toss, he chose to bowl first. Very few people could have fathomed what was to come.
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Rohit opened the innings with Shikhar Dhawan. The team got a decent start as the two stitched together a 112-run partnership. After that, Dhawan fell to spinner Xavier Doherty and Virat Kohli ran himself out after a mix-up with Rohit. The responsibility lied on Rohit's shoulder and boy did he deliver! Rohit, along with the then captain MS Dhoni, put up 167 runs for the fifth wicket. After reaching his hundred, Rohit accelerated and finally got to his double-hundred in 156 balls. Rohit lost his wicket to pacer Clint McKay after scoring 209 runs, which included 16 sixes. Rohit walked off as the stadium as it applauded the majestic effort he had put up.
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India win comfortably
Rohit's effort along with fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni was enough to push India to 383. Australia, in return, could only manage 326 runs before they ran out of all their wickets. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja were the most effective with three wickets each. India won by 57 runs and Rohit was the unanimous choice for the Player-of-the-Match award. Double-hundreds were rare in 2013, they still are. But this analogy somehow does not apply to Rohit. He went on to score two more and currently has the record for most double-hundreds in ODI cricket. Rohit also holds the record for the highest-ever score in an ODI game as he scored 264 against Sri Lanka in an ODI in Kolkata in 2014.