England vs India 2021: Rohit Sharma Reaches 11,000 Runs As Opener In International Cricket
Indian opener Rohit Sharma completed 11,000 runs as an opener in international cricket. He achieved the feat during the third innings of the fourth Test match between England and India at the Oval. Rohit also breached the 15000-run mark in international cricket during the same knock.
Rohit made his debut for India in ODI’s way back in 2007 against Ireland. He made his T20I debut just a couple of months later, but he started out as a middle-order batsman mainly used as a pinch-hitter.
His big break came in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy when the then skipper MS Dhoni promoted him up the order alongside Shikhar Dhawan. It turned out to be a brilliant move from the legendary ‘keeper as Rohit made it work with Dhawan and India won the trophy on the back of their sturdy opening partnerships.
Since then, Rohit established himself as an opener in the white-ball format. In October 2013, he reached 1000 runs as an opener. Rohit’s favorite format is the ODI’s where he has three double-hundreds, while none of the other batsmen around the world even have two. Rohit also has four centuries in T20I’s which is the highest in the format.
In 227 ODI’s he has scored 9205 runs at an average of 48.96. He holds the record for the highest score in ODI’s – 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens – which many believe is unlikely to be broken anytime in the future. In the 2019 World Cup held in England, Rohit scored 5 centuries but India failed to reach the final.
Rohit Sharma takes India into the lead on Day 3 of the Oval Test
Having survived the last hour of play on Day 2, openers KL Rahul and Rohit had the onus of playing out the first hour of the morning on the third day. The duo managed to thwart the English bowling attack, albeit a few plays and misses here and there.
Rahul survived an LBW decision after reviewing the umpire’s decision but soon fell to James Anderson while on 46. Till then, he looked comfortable at the crease but the hard work of the 39-year-old pacer paid off. Rohit stood tall at the other end, playing a few crisp shots including his favorite pull stroke.
Cheteshwar Pujara also showed intent at the crease, scoring three boundaries as the two took India to lunch with a lead of 9 runs. There is still a long way to go in the Test so India will be keen on building the momentum on Day 3.
