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Rohit Sharma silenced his critics with his amazing century at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, in the third and final ODI match between India and England. He achieved the milestone in 84 balls and kept India in the run chase.
Rohit started the innings in a positive way as the ball was middling his bat. He broke several records after scoring the century as he became the first India batter to score an ODI century at this iconic venue, surpassing the previous record of former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
How Rohit Sharma performed in the Lord's ODI against England?
After England put up a mammoth total of 388 runs on the board, Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill came out well. Rohit looked in good touch as he played his regular shots during the innings, and the two openers stitched a partnership of 146 runs for the first wicket.
Rohit Sharma brought up his fifty in 50 deliveries; it was his 63rd half-century, and he looked in sublime touch as he continued scoring runs after the fifty and scored his 34th hundred in the most important match for the Men in Blue side.
Now Rohit, after the century, is the batter with the most centuries in England in ODIs by a visiting batter. He now has 8 centuries to his name and also became the oldest Indian batter to score a hundred across formats and also at Lord's.
Why the Lord's ODI was surrounded by farewell speculation?
The third and final ODI between India and England at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London had unusual attention amid growing speculation over Rohit Sharma's ODI future.
Reports that surfaced during the second ODI claimed that a section of the BCCI selection committee was not in favour of Rohit continuing in the 50-over format. It was further reported that the selectors wanted to give Yashasvi Jaiswal an extended run in the ODI setup with an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup.
As the speculation gathered momentum, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed the reports.
Speaking to PTI, Saikia stated that no decision had been taken regarding Rohit's ODI future and rejected claims of any immediate retirement or plans to drop the former India captain. Meanwhile, it was also reported that Rohit intends to continue playing ODI cricket after improving his fitness.
What Rohit's Lord's innings means in the context of India's ODI future?
Rohit Sharma answered all the questions that were raised in the past few days, as he scored his hundred on Sunday. From the very start, he looked in deft touch and never left half measures; it was a vintage Rohit innings as he took his time without going into the shell and played all his strokes.
His innings has still not been over as he continues to dominate the English bowlers, and with this statement innings he will surely have the selectors thinking who wanted to drop him from this format. For now, everything remains on hold as India pile up the runs and try to make a successful run chase with Virat and Rohit in the crease.
