Gros Islet [St Lucia], June 24 (ANI): India skipper Rohit Sharma hammered the star-studded Australian bowling line-up and became the first player to hit 200 sixes in the T20I format.
After suffering a heartbreak in the ODI World Cup final at the hands of Australia last year, Rohit took revenge by taking the mantle of single-handedly driving India’s scoreboard.
A knock soothing to the eyes, Rohit struck eight towering maximums and became the first player to hit 200 maximums in the shortest format of cricket. Overall, Rohit has 203 sixes under his belt. His closest competitor is former New Zealand opener Martin Guptil with 173 sixes to his name.
After Kohli went back for a five-ball duck, Rohit went berserk in the third over and took on Australia’s ace, Mitchell Starc. On the first delivery, he launched the ball over the covers to set the tone. He effortlessly cleared the boundary on the second ball, leaving Starc clueless in the process.
On the third ball, he slammed the ball down the ground to pick up a four. He tonked the third six into the crowd over deep midwicket on a delivery that clocked 144kph.
Starc found a moment of reprieve after pulling off a dot ball on the fifth delivery. Starc and Australia’s woes increased after he bowled a wide on the final delivery. The left-arm pacer went for a yorker to finish off the over, but he couldn’t nail it and bowled a full toss. Rohit had a full swing at it and the ball sailed over third man for another six.
Starc eventually got his revenge by bowling a scorching yorker to dislodge the bails off the stumps. Rohit walked back with a score of 92 off a mere 41 deliveries. This is the highest score for Rohit in the history of the competition and the highest individual knock in the ongoing edition.
This was the second-highest individual score for India in the history of the T20 World Cup. 14 years ago on the same ground, Suresh Raina scored 101 against South Africa and still holds the record for the highest individual scores for India in the marquee event.
Overall as a captain, this was the second-highest individual score in the T20 World Cup. Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle holds the record with a knock of 98 that he notably pulled off against India in 2019 in Bridgetown.
On the back of Rohit’s heroics and valuable contributions from the rest of the players powered India to 205/5. (ANI)
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