On this day in 2014: ‘Hitman’ Rohit goes top of the summit

As Rohit Sharma and his carefully nurtured Mumbai Indians bask in the glory of clinching yet another Indian Premier League (IPL) title, a record fifth, the Mumbaikar has another reason to rejoice and remember.

Rohit, now 33, went on top of the summit, so to speak, rewriting history on this day, six years ago.

The burly Indian opener went on to make the highest individual score in One Day Internationals, a record that still stands in his name.

Rohit set the majestic Eden Gardens in Kolkata alight with a sparkling 264 against Sri Lanka, back in 2014.

It almost wouldn’t have been as Rohit, who opened with Ajinkya Rahane, was given a reprieve as Thisara Perera fluffed it at third man after top edging Shaminda Eranga.

And that was to be a very, very costly drop as far as the Sri Lankans were concerned and a gift for Rohit. And the right-handed batsman made them pay heavily, going on to unfurl a swashbuckling knock.

The innings was studded with an astonishing 33 boundaries and nine sixes.

In the process, Rohit went past the then previous record of 219 set by Virender Sehwag, who scored that against the West Indies in Indore. Sehwag had beaten Sachin Tendulkar’s mark of 200 not out in 2011.

Rohit’s penchant for big scores was evident as it was his third double hundred after he had come up with 209, his maiden double against Australia in Bengaluru in 2013 and repeated the feat against the same opponents when scoring 208 in 2017.

james@khaleejtimes.com

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