6 records made by Rohit Sharma during his dazzling 161 in the second Test
Indian opener Rohit Sharma made a fabulous hundred on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Chennai.
Coming into the match under pressure after a few low-scoring outings, Rohit Sharma led India’s batting charge, scoring a chanceless 161 off 231 balls with the aid of 18 fours and two sixes.
After Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat, England got off to a brilliant start, as Olly Stone trapped Shubman Gill for a duck. Cheteshwar Pujara (21) and Kohli (0) also fell in quick succession, as India slumped to 86/3.
However, Rohit Sharma continued to attack from the other end. He found an able ally in Mumbai teammate and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. The duo added 162 runs for the fourth-wicket before England fought back, dismissing both batsmen in the last session of the day.
Rohit Sharma mishit a sweep off Jack Leach straight to deep square leg, while Rahane was cleaned up by Moeen Ali for a well-made 67.
Six records Rohit Sharma broke with his daddy hundred on Day 1 of the second Test
During the course of his 161-run innings, Rohit Sharma created quite a few impressive records. Let us take a look at six of them:
#1 First Indian to score his first seven Test hundreds at home
Rohit Sharma’s 161 in Chennai was his seventh Test century and the first by an Indian in 2021. Incredibly, all of his seven Test hundreds till date have come on home soil.
The right-hander is now the first Indian to have registered his first seven three-figure knocks in the longest format of the game at home.
The previous record in this regard was in the name of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who scored his first six Test hundreds in India.
Rohit Sharma’s highest Test score away from home is 79 in Sri Lanka, which he made in August 2015. In 20 Tests away from home, he has a rather underwhelming average of 27.
Overall, Rohit Sharma is second on the list of players with most home Test tons without one away. Bangladesh’s Mominul Haque holds the record with 10.
#2 Most international hundreds since the start of 2018
Barring the two Tests in Australia, Rohit Sharma has been in sublime form for most part of the last two years.
With his hundred on Saturday, he went past his captain Virat Kohli to become the batsman with the most international hundreds since the start of 2018.
The 33-year-old now has 19 international hundreds in 106 innings across formats during the said period. Rohit Sharma went past Kohli (18 tons from 120 innings). England captain Joe Root is third on the list, with 13 tons from 122 innings.
#3 First player to score hundreds in all three formats against four different nations
With his century against England, Rohit Sharma became the first player in international cricket to smash hundreds in all three formats against four different countries.
Apart from England, Rohit Sharma has hundreds in all three versions of the game against West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
#4 Joint-second among batsmen with most hundreds in the World Test Championship
Rohit Sharma’s hundred on Saturday was his fourth in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC). He now joins three other modern-day run-machines on the list of batsmen with the second-most centuries in the WTC.
Apart from Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, Steve Smith and Ben Stokes have notched up four centuries so far in the WTC.
Among the quartet, Rohit Sharma has taken the fewest innings to score his four hundreds. He has four hundreds from 13 innings, while Azam, Smith and Stokes have as many after 17, 22 and 26 innings respectively.
Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne (five in 23 innings) has the most centuries in the WTC.
#5 Fastest to smash 200 international sixes at home
Rohit Sharma has now become the quickest player to score 200 international sixes at home, reaching the landmark in 123 innings.
New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (161 innings) held the earlier record. Brendon McCullum (192) and Chris Gayle (217) are the two names on the list.
#6 First Indian to hit 200 international sixes at home
On Saturday, Rohit Sharma also became the first Indian batsman to smash 200 sixes at home in international cricket. The ‘Hitman’ arrived at the landmark after smashing a tossed-up delivery from Moeen Ali over the long-off boundary.
Rohit Sharma has reached 200 sixes in his 118th international match at home. Former India captain MS Dhoni is second on the list, with 179 sixes in 202 games, while Yuvraj Singh is a distant third with 111 sixes in 146 matches.