Matt Henry, during the fifth ODI in Wellington, ended Rohit Sharma’s century-hitting streak in an ODI series/ICC tournament, as he bowled him on two off 16 balls. However, it was after the tenth consecutive series where Rohit had hit a hundred in a game; he had failed to cross the three-digit mark. Though the right-handed batsman had scored 87 in the second ODI of the five-match series, he couldn’t convert on the starts he got in other matches.
Rayudu, all-rounders save India’s ship in Wellington
For the last time in the New Zealand ODIs, India won the toss and batted first. Much like in the previous game, the visitors were reduced to 18 for four at one stage. Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar then steadied the ship, adding 98 runs for the fifth wicket.
However, it didn’t just end there. The batsmen to follow, Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya had their share cut of scoring too. Though Jadhav scored 34, Hardik Pandya’s late exploits (45 off 22 balls) helped India score 252 in the first innings.
2019 began well for Rohit Sharma
2019 did begin on a bright note for Rohit Sharma. Firstly, he became the father to a beautiful girl; later, during the Australia ODIs, he scored a hundred in the first match at the SCG. Though India had lost the game, Rohit entered the record books; becoming the first batsman in history to score a ton against Australia at four different venues at their home. Also, the Mumbai batsman was the third highest run-scorer in the three-match ODIs with 185 runs at 61.67.
However, the following limited-overs tour to NZ didn’t start on the expected lines. Yes, Rohit had slammed 87 in the second ODI, his numbers aren’t too impressive otherwise. In five matches, he managed 169 at 33.80 with no hundred to his name.
Rohit Sharma’s century-hitting streak ended
Meanwhile, he is the only batsman to have scored a hundred in each of the last ten ODI series/ICC tournaments and eight ODI bilateral series. As next to him is the India captain, Virat Kohli; who had achieved the feat of completing a century in six consecutive ODI series/ICC tournaments during 2011-2012.
Moreover, during the bilateral series only; on six successive occasions, South Africa’s Hashim Amla had achieved the feat (2013-2015), whereas, Kohli attained the same numbers between 2015 and 2017.