After their tied result in the first of the three-match One Day International series at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the host Sri Lanka handed a 32-run defeat to the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team in the second game to go 1-0 up in the series. Despite their 97-run opening partnership, the Blue Brigade wasn’t level to chase 241 runs.
Once India lost the toss and was invited to chase on a surface that was quite dry and expected to get slower in the backend of the day, one could sense the frustration in the face of the visiting captain. The home side struggled in the middle order with their batting, but a 72-run stand for the seventh wicket propelled them to 240-run mark.
The opening stand of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill offered the team a strong 97-run platform in 13.3 overs before the former was dismissed. Gill batted well but couldn’t stay longer once his partner got out. From their position of 116/1 in 17 overs, the two-time world champions lost their nine wickets for just 92 runs to get bundled out for 208 in 42.2 overs.
Rohit Sharma becomes the first Indian opener to achieve this feat
Just like he batted with aggression in the first ODI at the same ground a couple of days ago to enjoy a fine half-century, Rohit Sharma started in the same fashion, as he nailed Dunith Wellalage for three boundaries in the same over in various parts of the ground. Quite sweetly, the 37-year-old pulled Akila Dhananjaya over mid-wicket for another boundary.
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Asitha Fernando made the mistake of going short at the opening batter, who hammered the pull to send the ball into the stands before pumping another six against Dhananjaya over the long-on region. With an incredible six over deep extra cover, Rohit Sharma celebrated his half-century in just 29 balls.
Since the beginning of the year 2023, the Nagpur-born has cracked the most sixes (53) in the first ten overs, as he registered back-to-back fifties in the first ten overs of the innings. That was the fourth such instance of him achieving the feat, with Virender Sehwag sitting at the top of the list among Indians with seven such instances.
The veteran brought the slog sweep to dispatch Wellalage into the mid-wicket for another six. While playing the shot, Rohit Sharma looked to injure himself, which saw him not playing any natural shots from that point. He ended with a 64-run knock in 44 balls, shouldering on five boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 145.45.
When he scored his second run of the evening, Rohit Sharma became the fourth-highest run-getter for India in the 50-over format, overtaking their former head coach Rahul Dravid (10831). The Indian captain now has collected 10831 runs in 256 innings, at an average of nearly 50 and a strike rate of 92.29, besides celebrating 31 centuries and 57 fifties.
“The reason I got 65 is because of the way I batted. When I am batting like that, there are a lot of risks taken. If you don’t cross the line, you always feel disappointed. I don’t want to compromise on my intent.” Rohit Sharma addressed in the post-match presentation. “We understand the nature of this surface, it gets tough in the middle overs. You have to try to get as many as possible in the powerplay.”
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He also becomes the first Indian batter to smash 300 sixes in ODIs as an opener. Only Chris Gayle has marked the record before him, who tops the chart with 328 over boundaries opening the innings.
The third and final game of the series will take place on August 07 at the same ground.