Rohit Sharma
lived a lucky life early on his knock, but the India captain fought it out and went on to score his 11th
Test century
on day one of the third Test against England in Rajkot. En route, he went past MS Dhoni in the list of most sixes by Indian batsmen in Test cricket.
Rohit was dropped on 27, when an outside edge induced by spinner Tom Hartley evaded a diving Joe Root at first slip.
But before that, he was tested by England paceman Mark Wood with a barrage of bouncers, one of which got big and hit the grill of Rohit’s helmet.
Rohit, who was looking for runs after meager returns in the first two Tests, buckled down thereafter and, in partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, bailed India out of trouble after Wood had dismissed the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) and Shubman Gill (0) cheaply.
India were 33/3 at one stage after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
Rohit hit 11 fours and 2 sixes before completing his century, and the second six off the Indian opener’s bat took him past former captain Dhoni in the list of Indian six-hitters in Test cricket.
The list is headed by Virender Sehwag’s 90 sixes. Rohit’s second six on Thursday was his 79th in Tests, which took him past Dhoni’s tally of 78.
Here’s the complete list of most sixes for India in Tests:
90 – Virender Sehwag
79 – Rohit Sharma
78 – MS Dhoni
69 – Sachin Tendulkar
61 – Ravindra Jadeja
61 – Kapil Dev
At the time this story went to print, Rohit was batting on 112 and Ravindra Jadeja on 71, with India’s total reading 204/3 in 58 overs.
