On a day when a number of batting records have been broken by Nepali batters in their first Asian Games 2023 match against Mongolia in Hangzhou, neighboring Indian captain Rohit Sharma also joined the bandwagon even though in a far less threatening manner.
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Batting in the third ODI against Australia, Sharma scored his 52nd ODI half-century, 39th as an opening batter, 19th at home, 11th as captain, ninth against Australia, sixth in 2023 and second at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Having said that, what sets this innings apart from his other half-centuries is the fact that he has achieved the milestone within the first 10 overs of an ODI innings for the first time.
Rohit Sharma Scores ODI Half-Century In First 10 Overs For The First Time
Opening the batting with his 12th partner in the format in all-rounder Washington Sundar (18), Sharma registered an outright domination in a 65-ball 74-run first-wicket partnership.
Having already hit a couple of fours against fast bowler Mitchell Starc, Sharma put on display an elegant lofted drive over the cover region to hit the first six of the Indian innings in the third over. A similar delivery in Starc’s following over received a similar kind of treatment from the right-handed batter as India begun their response to a 353-run chase in an affirmative way.
In no mood to apply breaks, Sharma targeted Josh Hazlewood on the final delivery of the next over. In what was a short delivery, Sharma read the length early to play his preferred pull shot on the leg-side.
With assessing the length early being the key, Sharma’s next two sixes off counterpart Pat Cummins‘ first over also came via eye-catching pull shots. It all happened on the third delivery of the 10th over when another Sharma pull, this time off Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, powered him to a 31-ball half-century.
For the unversed, Sharma has become the fifth Indian batter to have completed an ODI fifty within the first 10 overs of an innings. While the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa had done it once each, Virender Sehwag had accomplished the feat as many as seven times.
Sharma, who ended up scoring 81 (57) including five fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 142.10, extended his lead to more than double in the list of Indian batters to have hit five or more sixes in the format. After Sharma’s 17 such instances, Tendulkar is second on the list on the back of hitting five or more sixes in an innings eight times.
Rohit Sharma Had Registered Maiden ODI Fifty As Opener In 2013
Sharma, who had first opened the batting in an ODI during India’s tour of South Africa 2011, had touched the 50-run mark in the same role for the first time during a home series against England 10 years ago.
Opening the batting with Gambhir in Mohali, Sharma had scored 83 (93) to lay a solid foundation in what had eventually become a successful 258-run chase.
On the verge of getting dropped after averaging 2.6 across a five-match series in Sri Lanka, Sharma had managed to avoid the axe due to constant backing by the then captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With middle-order spots no longer being up for grabs, Dhoni had promoted Sharma to the top of the order. The rest, as they say, is history!
