Rohit Sharma - the giant killer

Mumbai, October 29: How many times have you seen that a single batsman is able to outscore the entire opposition team?

But that is exactly what Rohit Sharma did with a brilliant innings against West Indies in Mumbai on October 29.

While Rohit played a brilliant knock of 162, the Jason Holder-led side was all out for just 153 thanks to twin three-wicket haul from Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav.

Rohit has done this once before when he achieved this feat against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014. That match was extra special for him as he went on to score the highest individual score in ODI history. Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh have also achieved this feat by outscoring the entire opposition teams, but only once.

Rohit Sharma has done it twice in ODIs.

Sharma had put on 71 runs with opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, when he lost Shikhar who fell to Keemo Paul for 38.

Sharma then took on the responsibility to steady India’s innings. Once he had things under control, he took to counter attack to slowly rip the West Indies bowling attack apart.

Rohit Sharma is the only batsman to score three ODI double centuries. This was his 21st century which he scored in just 98 deliveries. He then very proudly raised his bat and kissed the team logo on his helmet.

He punished the bowlers mercilessly to all parts of the ground, hitting 20 fours and 4 sixes in his scintillating 162 run of 137-balls. It was Rohit Sharma’s seventh 150 plus score in ODIs.

Receiving the Man-of-the-Match award for his knock, Rohit didn’t hesitate from publicly declaring his love for the Cricket Club of India ground and said he was confident of doing well.

“I have played a lot of cricket at the CCI. It’s a very good pitch and you get value for the shots. You don’t need to hit the ball hard here. You just need to place the ball in the gaps. That’s what I was trying to do. When you come to a ground where you have played enough cricket, you feel confident going into the match.”

Indian batsman outscoring the opposition in a completed ODI:

S Tendulkar (152) v Namibia (130), Pietermaritzburg, 2003

Yuvraj (102*) v Bangladesh (76), Dhaka, 2003

Rohit Sharma (264) v Sri Lanka (251), Kolkata, 2014

Rohit Sharma (162) v West Indies (153), Mumbai BS, 2018 *

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