Credits: BCCI
On November 2, 2013, Indian batter Rohit Sharma went all guns blazing and recorded a violent 209 runs to guide home side for a win over Australia in a seven-match ODI series. The then vice-captain of the Indian team recorded history by becoming the third Indian batter to score an ODI double ton. Before Rohit, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag had achieved the feat and were the only two Indians to score 200+ runs.
Sharma achieved the feat in the seventh and final ODI against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He had scored 209 runs off 158 deliveries with a combination of 12 boundaries and 16 maximums. His knock came at a crucial point when the series was tied at 2-2. The Nagpur-born batter took India to a 57-run win in the game as well as an upper hand in the seven-match series by 3-2. Sharma was awarded as the Man of the Match.
Rohit Sharma’s record-creating 16 maximums
During the innings, Sharma smashed 16 maximums which came as a record. It was later broken by England’s former limited-over captain Eoin Morgan (71-ball-148), who smashed 17 maximums against Afghanistan in Manchester during the 2019 World Cup.
Most sixes in an ODI innings:
Eoin Morgan: 17 vs Afghanistan (2019)
Rohit Sharma: 16 vs Australia (2013)
AB de Villiers: 16 vs West Indies (2015)
Chris Gayle: 16 vs Zimbabwe (2015)
Jaskaran Malhotra: 16 vs Papua New Guinea (2015)
After the match, Sharma said, “I didn't really think of the 200 initially. Right from ball one I wanted to stay there. It was a small ground with a fast outfield, we knew it was going to be a big-scoring game keeping the wickets in hand. We always spoke about building small partnerships and we had two big ones today. It's been our strength throughout the series so it was heartening to see that. You never know, even 380 wasn't looking comfortable.”
He added, “Credit goes to Dhawan and Virat as well, they played very well throughout the series, we showed real character. I'm enjoying opening at the moment, just want to keep continuing and want to continue fresh. I'm looking forward to the West Indies series now and I didn't know about the 16 sixes record.”
