<p>After scoring a world record 264 off 173 balls against Sri Lanka on Thursday, Rohit Sharma had every reason to sound bullish. But he chose a different path.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Without belittling the magnitude of the moment, Rohit stressed on the need to work harder in the coming days. “Of course, I am happy to get that mark. <br /><br />But from hereon, I need to work harder as there is a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” Rohit told reporters.<br /><br />The genesis of his matured thinking, perhaps, was in the injury-induced struggle he underwent in the last two months or so. <br /><br />“Yes, the last couple of months were very tough for me. I had to work really hard to regain my fitness, and I need to thank BCCI physio Vaibhav Daga for it. He worked really hard with me, and today I am sure he will be a happy man,” said Rohit.<br /><br />En route to his 264, Rohit went past Virender Sehwag’s 219 as the highest individual score in one-dayers. Rohit detailed his emotions. <br /><br />“I knew 219 was the record because last year when I scored that double hundred in Bangalore, someone told me that I missed the record by a few runs. Here, suddenly I saw my teammates applauding from the dressing room, and then I realised I might have gone past that record. But I am also happy that I was able to bat till the 50th over,” he said.<br /><br />Rohit said he needed to do careful compilation of his innings despite the frenetic pace at which he played it.<br /><br /> “I needed to spend some time in the middle. I was coming back after an injury, so the free flow of shots was not happening. I was determined to stay at the crease and get a big score, and Rahane’s quick knock helped me to settle down as well.”<br /><br />Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews, who added 118 runs for the fifth wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne, rued the dropped catch of Rohit early in the innings.<br /><br />“Our bowlers went haywire after the 25th over as India scored well over 200 in the phase. Having said that, we should have bowled with a better planning against Rohit. You can’t give a let off to batsmen like Rohit. It was a brilliant innings,” said Mathews.</p>
<p>After scoring a world record 264 off 173 balls against Sri Lanka on Thursday, Rohit Sharma had every reason to sound bullish. But he chose a different path.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Without belittling the magnitude of the moment, Rohit stressed on the need to work harder in the coming days. “Of course, I am happy to get that mark. <br /><br />But from hereon, I need to work harder as there is a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” Rohit told reporters.<br /><br />The genesis of his matured thinking, perhaps, was in the injury-induced struggle he underwent in the last two months or so. <br /><br />“Yes, the last couple of months were very tough for me. I had to work really hard to regain my fitness, and I need to thank BCCI physio Vaibhav Daga for it. He worked really hard with me, and today I am sure he will be a happy man,” said Rohit.<br /><br />En route to his 264, Rohit went past Virender Sehwag’s 219 as the highest individual score in one-dayers. Rohit detailed his emotions. <br /><br />“I knew 219 was the record because last year when I scored that double hundred in Bangalore, someone told me that I missed the record by a few runs. Here, suddenly I saw my teammates applauding from the dressing room, and then I realised I might have gone past that record. But I am also happy that I was able to bat till the 50th over,” he said.<br /><br />Rohit said he needed to do careful compilation of his innings despite the frenetic pace at which he played it.<br /><br /> “I needed to spend some time in the middle. I was coming back after an injury, so the free flow of shots was not happening. I was determined to stay at the crease and get a big score, and Rahane’s quick knock helped me to settle down as well.”<br /><br />Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews, who added 118 runs for the fifth wicket with Lahiru Thirimanne, rued the dropped catch of Rohit early in the innings.<br /><br />“Our bowlers went haywire after the 25th over as India scored well over 200 in the phase. Having said that, we should have bowled with a better planning against Rohit. You can’t give a let off to batsmen like Rohit. It was a brilliant innings,” said Mathews.</p>
