#ThisDayThatYear: Rohit Sharma records his fifth hundred of 2019 WC
On this day in 2019, Rohit Sharma slammed his fifth ton of the 2019 ICC World Cup. His blistering ton came against Sri Lanka in the 44th match of the tournament. This took Rohit's overall tally to six, joint-most with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar in World Cup history. The former also smashed a number of other records. Here is how the action unfolded.
Sri Lanka settled for 264 after 50 overs
Batting first, Sri Lanka were off to a patchy start with the openers departing inside the first ten. They were reduced to 55/4 before Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne rescued the innings. While Mathews went on to score a hundred (113), the latter finished on 53 (68). Dhananjaya de Silva's unbeaten 29 propelled Sri Lanka to 264/7 at the end of the first innings.
Rahul, Rohit lead India's run-chase in style
Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma made a mockery of Sri Lanka's bowlers as they shared a 189-run for the first wicket. This became the highest opening partnership for India in a World Cup game. Sri Lankan pace spearhead Lasith Malinga was smashed for 82 runs in the match. And, Indian skipper Virat Kohli added the finished touch with his 41-ball 34*.
Records broken by Rohit Sharma in the match
Rohit Sharma's 103-run knock was studded with 14 fours and 2 sixes. With a fifth century in the tournament, he broke Kumar Sangakkara's record of four tons in a single World Cup edition. Notably, Rohit started the 2019 WC campaign with a solitary century under his belt. By the end of it, he equaled Sachin Tendulkar (6) at the top among World Cup centurions.
Rohit's record in World Cup matches
Rohit's conversion rate in World Cup games has grabbed eyeballs over the years. Having played 17 WC matches so far, he has amassed 978 runs at an incredible average of 65.20. The tally includes 6 hundreds and 3 fifties.
Most runs in the tournament
Although India were later defeated by New Zealand in the semi-finals, Rohit's terrific campaign was the highlight. He was the tournament's leading run-scorer, smashing 648 runs at 81.00. The Indian opener was followed by David Warner (647) and Shakib Al Hasan (606) on the list. Meanwhile, Rohit fell short by 25 runs to break Tendulkar's record of 673 runs in a single WC edition.
