India men's cricket team captain Rohit Sharma went into a record-breaking spree on October 11, Wednesday. The flamboyant right-hander smashed the fastest century by an Indian batter in the history of the ODI World Cup. Rohit got to the three-figure mark off just 63 balls in India’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 game against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. With the slambang ton, the Indian skipper broke his 1983 World Cup-winning counterpart Kapil Dev's long-standing record. Kapil had gotten to his century off 72 balls en route his legendary 175-run knock against Zimbabwe during India's victorious campaign. (Highlights | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
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Rohit's special knock was also his seventh century in the 50-over World Cup, which is the most tons by any player in the marquee tournament. Rohit overtook former India great Sachin Tendulkar, who had amassed six centuries in World Cup games. It is an illustrious list which features former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Aussie batting legend Ricky Ponting next, both of whom scored five centuries in the ODI World Cup.
On Wednesday, Rohit went after the Afghan bowling from the word go. Chasing a target of 273, India got off to a flier courtesy Rohit and his temporary opening partner Ishan Kishan's pyrotechnics. Kishan perished at a run-a-ball 47, but Rohit kept blazing away and found the boundaries with ease. Rohit ended up with an 84-ball 131 that put India on the doorset of victory.
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The 36-year-old struck five sixes in his innings to also overtake former West Indies explosive batter Chris Gayle in the number of sixes across formats. Gayle had struck 553 sixes in 551 innings across formats, and Rohit is now at 555 maximums after Wednesday's effort. Rohit needed just 473 to eclispe Gayle's mark.
