Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey
Rohit Sharma has found form ahead of the Champions Trophy, hitting a magnificent 119 off 90 balls in India’s series-sealing four-wicket win against England at Cuttack. It had been a challenging few months for Rohit in Tests, but a return to ODIs reminded one and all of just how fantastic he is in this format.
His dominant knock in Cuttack was his 22nd since turning 30 – the most ever. He is now just 13 away from 11,000 ODI runs and is currently averaging 49.26 with a strike rate of 92.70. From the first over where he displayed confidence in defence against good bowling from Saqib Mahmood, Rohit was in control.
A floodlight failure did little to break his early momentum. After hitting three sixes to go past Chris Gayle’s 331, Rohit never looked back. In fact, since February 2022, Rohit has smashed 94 sixes in 39 innings, with a total of 1,782 runs at an average of 50.91 and strike rate of 118.95. Only Heinrich Klaasen, Shubman Gill, Travis Head and Shreyas Iyer are the other players to average 50+ and strike at 100+ in this period.
For England, the concerns grow. This is now their sixth defeat in seven matches on tour, and they seem bereft of ideas on how to approach the ODI format currently. They do have the talent to cause problems for opponents in the Champions Trophy, but will their lack of team balance come back to bite in Pakistan as it has in India?
Reactions to Rohit Sharma’s excellent 119 (90) to seal ODI series against England
“If Rohit Sharma can bat like this at the Champions Trophy, India become a different beast to play against. He has looked in command in this innings,” wrote Harsha Bhogle on X. Indeed, if Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t end up playing, India will welcome such form from Rohit on a regular basis.
In the end, India chased England’s 304 with four wickets and 33 balls to spare. Here are some of the reactions from Rohit’s innings.
India and England will face off at Ahmedabad in the third ODI on February 12. India then begin their Champions Trophy campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai, while England face archrivals Australia on February 22 at Lahore.
