Rohit Sharma is the most influential white-ball cricketer in recent times. After Virat Kohli stepped down from his position of India’s ODI captaincy, It was Rohit that the BCCI turned to. And why wouldn’t that be? In his long international career, which started in 2007 in Ireland, he has amassed 9837 runs in 237 ODI innings with an average of 48.69.
Like an old wine, he has grown as a white-ball player. In the upcoming ODI World Cup in India, he will lead India and open the batting with youngsters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, which can benefit the youngsters. Also, cricket fans will be putting their trust in Rohit in online cricket betting platforms during Asia Cup and World Cup.
We will closely examine his six centuries at the ODI World Cup.
Looking Back At Rohit Sharma’s Six ODI Hundreds
The current India skipper scored six centuries in ODI World Cups. Five of those centuries came in the 2019 World Cup, where he slammed three-figure scores against South Africa, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. He was unsurprisingly the top scorer in the tournament with 648 runs.
Let’s take a look at those six centuries, one by one.
● 137 vs Bangladesh (Melbourne, 2015 World Cup)
It was the 2015 World Cup quarter-final match between India and Bangladesh. There was a lot of bad blood between the two nations already, and bowler Rubel Hossain gave Virat Kohli a disgusting send-off after the batter was out cheaply. But Rohit stepped up his game from this point on, slamming 137, and got tremendous support from Suresh Raina, who scored 65 runs. Thanks to these two, India posted 302/6. Bangladesh lost the match by a massive 109 runs.
Rohit Sharma led India to Asia Cup triumph in 2018. Get the complete Asia Cup winner team list.
● 122* vs South Africa (Southampton, 2019 World Cup)
It was India’s 2019 World Cup opener, and the Men in Blue made a mess of South Africa. Yuzvendra Chahal picked up four wickets, meaning South Africa was restricted to 227/9. In reply, India hunted down the target riding on Rohit’s perfect century. He remained unbeaten on 122
● 140 vs Pakistan (Manchester, 2019 World Cup)
Against the arch-rivals, Rohit was in full flow. He took every Pakistan bowler to the cleaners as he slammed 140 runs off just 113 balls. He got great support from KL Rahul (57) and Virat Kohli (77) as India posted 336/5 in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, Pakistan was never in the chase once Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman departed. India eventually won the match by 89 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method.
● 102 vs England (Birmingham, 2019 World Cup)
Against England, Indian batting faltered. It was a high-scoring chase, as England had batted superbly earlier. Riding on Jonny Bairstow’s 111, England had given India a target of 338 for a victory. India lost KL Rahul for a duck, but Rohit and Kohli (66) shared a 138-run stand for the second wicket. Rohit completed his century and gave India a fighting chance which went begging.
● 104 vs Bangladesh (Birmingham, 2019 World Cup)
Just a few days later, at the same venue, Rohit continued effectively going after the bowlers. India, who had lost the match to England, didn’t want to jeopardize their chances of getting into the semi-finals. Rohit slammed a superb 104 off 92 balls. His fellow opener Rahul scored 77, while Rishabh Pant made a quickfire 48 off 41 balls as India set a target of 315. Bangladesh batters couldn’t negotiate with the pace factor and were all out for 288.
● 103 vs Sri Lanka (Leeds, 2019 World Cup)
Rohit’s sixth ODI World Cup century came against Sri Lanka, who had batted first and posted a target of 265. In reply, India, powered by the centuries from Rohit and Rahul (111 off 118 balls), chased the target with seven overs to spare.
These are some of the top knocks that fans still remember when they discuss his performance at the biggest ODI tournament in the world.
Concluding Thoughts
Rohit has been at the peak of his career of late. Fans would be wishing that he continues this rich vein of form in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The 36-year-old is leading the side, but his batting avatar can’t take a backseat if India wants to repeat 2011 heroics.
