India vs England: Rohit Sharma slams seventh Test ton
Indian opener Rohit Sharma has slammed his seventh hundred in Test cricket. The flamboyant batsman reached the milestone on Day 1 of the ongoing second Test against England. This is also his first century against England in the longest format. Rohit continued with his onslaught even though India lost both Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in the first session. Here is more.
Rohit stood tall against quality bowling
Rohit was on the charge right from the beginning as skipper Kohli elected to bat. Even as wickets kept falling on the other end, the senior opener played his strokes freely. He reached his fifty in mere 47 balls, the fourth-fastest by an Indian opener against England in Test cricket. Unlike his previous few innings, Rohit went on to convert it into a hundred.
Rohit dominated the spinners in the session
During the innings, Rohit smashed 14 fours and 2 sixes. He also completed 400 runs against off-spinners in Test cricket at home. Moreover, he smashed his 21st six against them in India. Notably, the off-spinners have dismissed Rohit thrice, as of now (Home Tests).
A Test ton after eight innings for Rohit
Rohit has scored a Test ton after eight innings. His previous hundred came against South Africa in the 2019 Ranchi Test, when he tallied a blistering 212. His scores during the period read as - 6, 21, 26, 52, 44, 7, 6, 12 and 100*. Interestingly, Rohit has now smashed four of his seven Test hundreds as an opener.
35th international hundred for Rohit as an opener
Rohit now has the third-most hundreds (35) by an Indian opener in international cricket. He eclipsed Little Master Sunil Gavaskar on the tally, who had 34 international tons. The former is now only behind Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (45) and Virender Sehwag (36) in the elite club. Overall, this was Rohit's 40th international hundred, only the fourth Indian to do so.
A look at the other records he scripted
Rohit is now the only Indian batsman to hit 200 sixes in International Cricket at home. He is also the first Indian player to score each of his first seven Test hundreds at home. The previous most was by Mohammad Azharuddin (6). Furthermore, he is the only player in world cricket to have centuries across formats against four teams (SL, WI, SA and ENG).
