Adelaide: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma etched his name in the record books on Thursday, becoming the first Indian batter to score 1,000 ODI runs against Australia on Australian soil.
Rohit achieved the milestone during the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval. Close on his heels is Virat Kohli, who stands second with 802 runs in the same category.
In 21 ODIs in Australia, the ‘Hitman’ has now amassed 1,071 runs at an impressive average of 56.36 and a strike rate of 89.32, including four centuries and three half-centuries, with a top score of 171 not out.
In the latest encounter, Rohit played a composed yet commanding innings of 73 runs off 97 balls, laced with seven boundaries and two towering sixes, both coming from his signature pull shots against Mitchell Owen.
With this knock, Rohit also surpassed former captain Sourav Ganguly to become India’s third-highest run-getter in ODIs. Rohit now has 11,249 runs in 275 matches at an average of 48.69, featuring 32 centuries and 59 fifties, while Ganguly finished his career with 11,121 runs in 308 ODIs.
Since 2022, Rohit has notched up 19 fifty-plus scores, and this was just the second instance where he reached a fifty at a strike rate below 100 — the previous being a 66-ball 50 against England during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
In the ongoing year, the Indian captain has accumulated 383 runs in 10 innings at an average of 38.30, including a century and two fifties, with a top score of 119.
