Rohit Sharma. (Source – Twitter/X)
Current Indian captain Rohit Sharma etched his name in cricketing folklore with an unprecedented show of batting in the 2019 ODI World Cup. On July 6, 2019, he became the first batter to score five centuries in a single edition of the 50-over World Cup.
The right-handed batter achieved this feat during India’s last group stage encounter against Sri Lanka at the Headingley, in Leeds. Ahead of this clash, Rohit had already registered scores of 122*, 140, 102, and 104 against South Africa, Pakistan, England, and Bangladesh earlier in the tournament. The Men in Blue had won three out of these four games, and their only defeat coming against eventual champions England.
Against Sri Lanka, the Mumbai batter slammed 103 off 94 balls to help India chase down a 265-run target with seven wickets and 39 balls to spare. KL Rahul also scored a century in that game, as Angelo Mathews’ ton in the first innings went in vain. During his superlative knock, Rohit smashed 14 fours and two sixes. He was adjudged Player of the Match for his splendid innings.
By scoring his fifth ton in the tournament, Rohit broke Kumar Sangakkara’s record of four tons in a single edition of an ODI World Cup. The Sri Lankan stalwart had achieved the feat when he scored four consecutive centuries in the 2015 edition of the ODI World Cup. The century against Sri Lanka was Rohit’s 27th in the format.
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Rohit finished the tournament with an impressive tally of 648 runs in nine innings at a staggering average of 81 and an impressive strike rate of 98.33. No other batter scored more runs than him at the 2019 ODI World Cup. His tally of 648 runs was the third-highest in a single World Cup edition at that time.
However, Virat Kohli amassed 765 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup to become the highest run-getter in a single edition of the marquee event, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 673 runs.