India vs Australia 2020: Rohit Sharma becomes fastest player  to reach 7,000 ODI runs as an opener

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Rohit Sharma.

Indian opener Rohit Sharma entered the record books yet again when he became the fastest batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score 7,000 runs as an opener. He reached the feat in Rajkot during the 2nd ODI against Australia.

The Hitman went past the likes of Hashim Amla, Sachin Tendulkar, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sourav Ganguly to achieve the feat in just 137 innings. Rohit has been in stupendous form especially in the 50 overs format which saw him bag the 2019 ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

While Hashim Amla took 147 matches to reach the feat, Tendulkar and Dilshan took 160 and 165 matches respectively, to reach the mark. Ganguly occupies 4th spot in this list as he took 168 matches to reach the feat. Rohit is now in truly august company and will hopefully go on to break many more records. His contribution at the top ever since being elevated as the opener has been sublime and is going through a purple patch in his career.

Going past the likes of Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly is a monumental achievement in itself. Rohit didn’t start off the year in a great fashion but scored a fluent 42 off 44 during the 2nd ODI against Australia as India bounced back strongly with a 36 runs victory ensuring a series decider at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. 

Despite the victory, India will be a tad worried with the injury sustained by Rohit Sharma while fielding. During the 43rd over of the Australian innings in an attempt to stop a cut from Ashton Agar, Rohit jammed his arm on the ground and immediately clutched his shoulder in agony. He was taken off the field immediately. However during the presentation ceremony, Kohli stated that Rohit should be fine to feature in the series decider.

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