JOIN USRohit Sharma scripts history with highest ODI score of 264
No cricket ground in India carries the splendour and romance as that of the Eden Gardens. Rohit Sharma added another chapter to its illustrious history with a mesmerising double hundred against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
His 264 off 173 balls that contained 33 fours, a world record, and nine sixes propelled India to a mammoth 404 for five and to a 153-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-dayer.
The knock also made Rohit the holder of the highest individual score in one-day cricket, comfortably surpassing Virender Sehwag’s 219.
This was also Rohit’s second double hundred in ODIs after his 209 against Australia in Bengaluru on Deepavali last year. He is also the only batsman to score two double hundreds in the 50-over format, taking pole position in an all-Indian club that features Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.
But numbers alone cannot depict the beauty and significance of Rohit’s innings. This was Rohit’s first appearance at the Eden Gardens in a one-day international since making his debut for India in 2007. He made it a memorable occasion with top-class batting, worthy of the iconic venue’s 150th anniversary as well. Incidentally, Rohit scored a century on Test debut at this venue last year against the West Indies, a match organised to mark Tendulkar’s 199th Test.
Rohit treated the Lankan bowlers with utter disdain, pulling out a big stroke or an elegant drive at will. The ease with which Rohit was batting seemed like he was on auto-pilot mode. This was his first international match after suffering a fractured finger and ruptured shoulder in August, and in the meantime Ajinkya Rahane had pressed his case for the opener’s role with some handy knocks.
If there was any pressure, Rohit masked it smartly, and went about reclaiming his totem pole spot with an innings of sheer virtuosity. Now, there will not be many arguments about Shikhar Dhawan’s first-choice partner for the next few one-dayers.
Such was the brilliance of Rohit’s innings, the likes of Virat Kohli and Robin Uthappa, themselves stroke-makers of the highest order, were reduced to applauding spectators.