Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has given a big blow to his critics by scoring a brilliant half-century in Adelaide. The experienced opener’s cautious innings under pressure led him to take calculated risks and hit the ball across the boundary line only twice. This gave Rohit a new record for hitting sixes, a record he has often chased for India.
India face world champions Australia in a three-match ODI series. The series marks India’s preparation for the upcoming World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2027. Indian legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are looking at their chances in the World Cup with strong performances in these games.
After a not so impressive start to the tournament, Rohit and Virat failed; The new captain, Shubman Gill, lost his first match as captain, and the bowlers could not bowl in the right places, leading to very poor conditions.
Rohit Sharma created a new SENA record by playing an innings in Adelaide
Indian opener Rohit Sharma is known as the batsman who has hit six sixes consecutively in his entire career. Having played 275* ODI matches, the former Indian captain has hit 346* sixes for India in the ODI format alone. Rohit is already the player who has hit the most sixes for India, surpassing MS Dhoni by a huge margin of almost 120 sixes.
Apart from being the Indian player to hit the most number of sixes, he is also the player with the second most number of sixes in the ODI format in the world, only surpassed by former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Anyway, Rohit is 6 sixes away from overtaking the former Pakistani captain.
Playing for India in Adelaide, Rohit hit two sixes off Mitchell Owen, taking him to a new ODI milestone. The opening batsman now has 150 sixes in SENA countries, making him the only Asian batsman and the second visiting batsman after Chris Gayle to reach the mark.
Sharma brushes off critics after promising a show in Adelaide, stakes claim to World Cup 2027
However, after his flop show in Perth, the veteran Indian batsman continued to receive support from former Indian stars; He was constantly criticized for his lack of runs. Although Rohit scored a brilliant 79 in the Champions Trophy final, critics had doubts about his ability to play till the next World Cup.
Rohit Sharma was asked to get more game time, and he did so, as he took part in all the optional sessions ahead of the second ODI in Adelaide. He scored with great patience as the track looked more challenging to bat on.
Sharma scored 73 runs and led the Indian innings at the top, making a strong comeback ahead of the ICC World Cup 2027. He was out disappointingly to Mitchell Starc, who returned for his second spell.
Virat Kohli was out on zero consecutive runs for the first time in his ODI career.
For the first time in his long career of 304 ODI matches, Indian legend Virat Kohli was out for duck in consecutive matches. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were vying for a place in the World Cup squad, this was a big blow for Kohli.
Virat has been short of runs since his return to the longest format of white-ball cricket, and when he awkwardly gestured to his fans while acknowledging them, they sparked speculations about his retirement. However, from India’s point of view, they would love to see Virat get back to form like Rohit Sharma.
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