Even in the modern stage of the game, very few batters carry the same aura as the former legend of the game, Viv Richards, who was a pillar of ODI cricket. For someone to stun him with a cracking knock, it had to be of the highest quality, and former T20I captain of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma, was able to do so.
One remembers, especially a fan of the Blue Brigade, how the plan for the Indian team during the final of the 1983 World Cup was to dismiss Richards cheaply to take full advantage of the game. The veteran’s 184-run knock against England stood as the highest individual knock of a West Indies player for a long time before Chris Gayle broke it in 2015.
If the current era has seen any player who smashes the ball quite comfortably and with ease, it has to be Rohit Sharma, the only player to score three double centuries in the 50-over format. He showed his aggression during the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, which impacted their victorious campaign at the end.
Rohit Sharma smashed a crazy 92-run knock to make Viv Richards clap
When it comes to most sixes in international career, Rohit Sharma will always stand at the top. The Nagpur-born has smashed 620 sixes in 509 innings, while Gayle stands at number two in the list with a gap of more than 60 sixes, which shows the caliber of the Indian captain.
It was just eight months ago when they lost to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup at home in 2023, despite being unbeaten till that point in the competition. The same scenario took place in the 20-over World Cup, as they met the Mitchell Marsh-led side at the Darren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia.
Rohit Sharma smashed a 92-run knock in 41 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries and eight sixes at a strike rate of 224.39, which helped the side to collect a 24-run victory at the end.
The famous sports journalist Vimal Kumar, who was in the USA and the Caribbean during the event, revealed how Viv was in awe watching the 37-year-old smashing the opponent bowlers all around the park.
“I always knew that if they can beat Australia, no team will be able to stop them. You look at that game against Australia, it was as if Rohit Sharma took it personally. That is the home ground of Viv Richards, and someone told me that when he was watching the match, he was in awe.” Kumar expressed during a podcast on ‘2 Sloggers’.
“To have someone like Viv Richards in awe even for half an hour, it means your life is made. If Viv Richards is watching the match and you make him clap, there is nothing like it.” He revealed.
The veteran hammered all the Aussie bowlers around the park as he took on left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc and blasted him for 29 runs in an over, including four sies and a fifth one in the very next over.
“If there is one team I want to see winning this World Cup after West Indies, it’s you guys.” Richards entered the dressing room of the Indian team after their game against Bangladesh in Antigua.
Rohit Sharma, who was the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.70, won the T20 World Cup for the second time since 2007.