Ranchi: India’s stalwart Rohit Sharma played a superb innings against South Africa in the first ODI on Sunday and another feather to his already illustrious cap by breaking the former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi’s world record for most sixes in ODIs by hitting three maximums at the JSCA International Stadium Complex on Sunday.
While the Afridi ended his career with 351 ODI sixes, Rohit went one up and notched up his ODI career’s 352nd maximum to script history.
Batting first, Rohit put on a show for India while also building a brilliant 136-run second-wicket partnership alongside Virat Kohli. After Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal, the duo powered Team India’s scoreboard and took on the bowlers with style.
In the 15th over, Rohit hit Prenelan Subrayen for back-to-back sixes. With the first hit, he completed 350 career maximums, becoming the only Indian batter to achieve the feat in the 50-over format. After the second hit, the 37-year-old equalled Afridi’s record for most ODI sixes.
After getting to his 60th ODI half-century in the 19th over, Rohit notched up his 352nd ODI six to climb to the top of the elite list. Only three cricketers have scored over 300 sixes in the format, with Chris Gayle being the third, besides Rohit and Afridi, with 331 maximums.
Rohit’s time with the bat in the first ODI against the Proteas ended in the 22nd over when Marco Jansen trapped him lbw and the opener had to walk back to the pavilion, scoring 57 off 51 deliveries. His knock included five fours and three sixes as the Mumbai batter walked back after breaking a major record.
He continued from where he left off in his last international outing and scored his third consecutive half-century in the format. After notching 50+ scores in the second and third ODIs against Australia last month, including turning the half-century in the third ODI into a match-winning century, Rohit carried this momentum into the ODI series opener against the Proteas and has now made a strong case for his selection for the 2027 World Cup.
(IANS)
