5 slowest centuries by Indians in T20Is ft. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma broke a multitude of records in the third T20I against Afghanistan as he scored his fifth century in the format. The Indian captain got out without troubling the scorers in the first two matches of the three-match T20I series against the Afghans. Moreover, India were 22/4 at one stage in the third T20I.
Rohit showed immense grit and determination as he stitched together an amazing partnership with Rinku Singh. The pair took the Men in Blue from 22/4 in 4.3 overs to 212/4 in 20 overs. The pacing of Rohit's knock was incredible, as he was batting at a strike rate of around 100 in the first half of his innings.
Afghanistan took the game deep, eventually matching India's total of 212. The game was eventually decided after two super overs, where once again Rohit hit three sixes and one four in both super overs combined. It was a scintillating performance by the Indian captain, considering he was out of form.
A total of 17 centuries have been scored by Indian batters in T20I cricket, five of which have been scored by Rohit Sharma and four off of Suryakumar Yadav's willow.
On that note, here's a look at the five slowest T20I centuries by Indian players.
#5 Rohit Sharma - 56 balls
Rohit Sharma's only T20I ton on foreign soil came against England in Bristol in 2018. The hosts put up 198 runs on the board, thanks to a blistering start by their opening pair of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy. However, India's right-handed opener had other ideas.
Rohit remained not out on 100 off 56 balls, as he produced a knock for the ages. He took his team to the target with seven wickets to spare and eight balls remaining. Chasing 200-odd runs in T20Is is hard in itself, but doing it against England in England is even more special.
#4 Rohit Sharma - 58 balls
Rohit Sharma scored a classy century against the West Indies in November 2018 at Lucknow to not only become the first batter to score four T20I centuries but also briefly go ahead of Virat Kohli as the highest run-getter for the country in the shortest format of the game.
On a tricky Lucknow pitch, Rohit made batting look easy as he scored an unbeaten 111 off 61 balls, with his century coming in 58. His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, took 41 balls to hit 43 runs, and the West Indies only scored 124 in 20 overs, which proved how tough it was to bat on that track.
#3 Suresh Raina - 59 balls
Suresh Raina's only T20I century is fondly remembered even to this date, as it was the first century by an Indian in the shortest form of international cricket. In a Group C match against South Africa at Gros Islet in the 2010 T20 World Cup, Raina scored 101 off 60 balls.
Raina struggled at the start of his knock, scoring just 19 in his first 22 deliveries. He eventually found his rhythm and propelled the Men in Blue to a total of 186/5, which ended up proving to be 14 runs too many for the Proteas, despite Jacques Kallis' 73.
#2 Rohit Sharma - 62 balls
Rohit Sharma's first-ever T20I century was also one of his slowest, and India lost that game to South Africa in Dharamsala in 2015. Rohit completed his century in 62 balls and was dismissed for 106 off 66 deliveries. India posted a total of 199/5.
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers made solid contributions at the top of the order, but it was Jean-Paul Duminy who scored an unbeaten 68 off 34 balls to take the Proteas home. He was well supported by Farhaan Behardien.
#1 Rohit Sharma - 64 balls
The slowest century scored by an Indian in T20Is came in the aforementioned third T20I against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma took 64 balls to reach the three-figure mark, which was still commendable considering he was 28 off 34 balls at one stage.
Rohit didn't stop after scoring his fifth century in T20Is. He scored another 18 runs in just five deliveries to register an unbeaten 121 off 69 balls. While he has four of the five slowest centuries in T20I cricket for his nation, he also has the fastest T20I ton, which came in just 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017.