On This Day 12 Years Ago: How Rohit Sharma Rewrote Record Books To Score 264 After Being Dropped On 4

"Today is the kind of day I can tell my kids I was there." These were the exact words Virat Kohli used to express his admiration for Rohit Sharma on November 13, 2014, the day Rohit Sharma shed his human skin and became a superhuman figure for Indian fans and a monster batter for opposition bowlers.

It was the day Rohit Sharma played his famous 264-run innings against Sri Lanka. Twelve years and counting, it remains the highest innings score in ODIs.

Rohit was no stranger to daddy hundreds. He was already part of the elite list of ODI double-centurions with his 209 against Australia in 2013. However, his inconsistency drew a lot of attention from pundits and fans alike.

But he changed the narrative in front of 63,000 spectators at Eden Gardens, which was celebrating its 150th anniversary. Rohit lit up the roaring venue, fueling the crowd with his humongous sixes.

Returning from the Shadows: The Stakes of a Comeback

Rohit Sharma's innings gains much more significance when we put the context in frame. Rohit was coming back from a 10-week injury layoff that kept him away from cricket.

The 'Hitman' sustained a fracture in his right index finger during the second ODI of India's tour of England in August. Rohit was immediately ruled out of the series, forcing him to miss the remaining three matches.

In Rohit's absence, Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings for India. India played a total of nine matches during the period, and Rahane showed a lot of promise, scoring 405 runs at an average of 45, striking at a rate of 87.66, and smashing two centuries and one fifty.

These numbers could actually threaten Rohit Sharma's place in the playing XI, as Rohit's career average till then was in the mid-30s.

Rohit's consistency had improved after the 2013 Champions Trophy, but his strike rate was still 78.25, compared to Rahane's 87.66 while Rohit was out of the team.

India were in the mix to finalise the squad for the 2015 ODI World Cup. Rohit knew how much it stings to miss out on a World Cup, having famously taken to Twitter after his 2011 World Cup snub to write: "Really really disappointed of not being the part of the WC squad..I need to move on frm here..but honestly it was a big setback..any views!"

The Slow Burn: Building Toward Immortality

Rohit couldn't play in the first three matches against Sri Lanka, and Ajinkya Rahane grabbed the opportunity to score 111 runs in the first match, winning the Player of the Match award.

Rohit returned in the fourth ODI of the five-match series, with India holding an unassailable 3-0 lead.

His return was anything but smooth. He mistimed a pull shot, offering a regulation catch to third man. However, Thisara Perera, who positioned himself under the ball, dropped the catch, giving an early reprieve to Rohit when he was batting on 4.

As destiny scripted it, that single dropped catch would go down as one of the costliest blunders in cricket history.

Rohit Sharma pivoted into an anchor after the dropped catch, adding 202 runs with Virat Kohli for the third wicket. However, a mix-up between the two cost Virat his wicket.

Acknowledging the mix-up, Rohit said: "That run-out of Virat was my mistake. It was a crucial partnership we were building, and to lose him then was quite frustrating. But I kept telling myself to keep on going."

Rohit completed his century off 100 balls and then unleashed a batting monster. He scored his next 100 runs in just 51 balls, and brought up his final 64 runs off just 22 balls.

He finished the innings scoring 264* off 173 deliveries, smashing 33 fours and 9 sixes. Boundaries accounted for 70.45 per cent of Rohit's total runs (186), a record for most runs scored in an innings via boundaries that still stands.

Rohit Sharma alone outbatted Sri Lanka, as the visitors were bowled out for 251 in 43.1 overs.

300: A Distant Dream

Reflecting on his record-breaking knock, Rohit Sharma said after the match: "I will try my best to get to 300, but as of now I will take 264. A lot of memories at Eden Gardens that will remain close to me. This one was really special."

While the 300-run mark may seem a distant dream now that Rohit has transitioned into a powerplay enforcer post-2019, cricket purists will always cherish his older template: anchoring through his hundred before unleashing pure carnage. 

He went on to score another double century in 2017, cementing his legacy as the only batter with three ODI double tons, with Sri Lanka once again bearing the brunt.

Major Records Rohit Sharma Shattered En Route To 264

• Highest individual score in ODIs: Scored 264 runs, shattering Virender Sehwag's previous world record of 219.

• First player to score two ODI double centuries: Became the first batsman in cricket history to reach the 200-run mark twice in the 50-over format.

• Most fours in an ODI innings: Hit 33 fours, comfortably breaking the previous record of 25 held jointly by Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

• Most total boundaries in an ODI: Struck 42 total boundaries (33 fours and 9 sixes), surpassing Sehwag's previous record of 32 boundaries.

• Most runs scored from boundaries in an ODI: Amassed 186 runs purely in boundaries, overtaking Shane Watson's previous mark of 150 runs.

• Highest score by an Indian in List A cricket: Surpassed Shikhar Dhawan's previous high of 248 runs.

• Highest individual score in India vs Sri Lanka ODIs: Eclipsed Sanath Jayasuriya's previous bilateral record of 189 runs.

• Outscoring the opposition: His individual score of 264 outscored the entire Sri Lankan team's total (251) by 13 runs.