Rohit Sharma hit five centuries in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup which was the most by any player in history but India were eliminated in the semi-finals by New Zealand.
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The Indian cricket team in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was powerful. They had Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their line-up, two greats in limited-overs cricket. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were in prime form heading into the World Cup. Kohli was struggling slightly to convert his fifties into hundreds. There were no such problems for Rohit though as he put on a brilliant exhibition of batting in England.
The 2019 ICC World Cup proved to be record-breaking for Rohit. He smashed five centuries and a fifty to hit 648 runs in nine matches. His tally of five centuries was the most by any player, breaking the previous record of four by Kumar Sangakkara in the 2015 World Cup. His 648 runs were just 25 runs shy of the most runs in a single edition of the World Cup, which was 673 by Sachin Tendulkar in the 2003 World Cup. However, Rohit leveled the mark of six centuries set by Tendulkar. While it took Tendulkar four World Cups to smash six centuries, Rohit leveled it in just two.
Here is a look back at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup hundreds by Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma already announced his intention in the 2019 ICC World Cup with a brilliant show against South Africa. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in addition to Kuldeep Yadav’s splendid performance reduced South Africa to 89/5. It needed solid knocks from the lower order to get South Africa to a good score. Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Kagiso Rabada’s knocks helped South Africa reach 227/9.
India lost Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli cheaply but Rohit was in a different zone altogether. He rotated the strike well and struck boundaries whenever the opportunities presented itself. Rohit notched up his hundred and in the end, he smashed a couple of sixes for good measure. India won the match by six wickets for their second straight win in World Cups against South Africa.
In a high-voltage encounter, Rohit survived a hostile spell from Mohammad Amir. The wounds of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was still fresh. But, Rohit survived and launched into an assault. Rohit hit a six and a four off Hasan Ali and he reached his fifty with a six and four off Shadab Khan. Rohit and KL Rahul notched up a 100-run stand, the first time India had stitched such an opening stand against Pakistan in World Cups. The Mumbai batsman continued his fine run by hammering a century off 85 balls. Rohit kept finding the gaps but he was dismissed for 140. India reached 336/5 and they won by 89 runs courtesy DLS method.
Rohit had failed in the previous two games, being dismissed for 1 and 18 against Afghanistan and West Indies. However, he came back into his own against England. The hosts had reached 337/5 with Jonny Bairstow scoring a century. In response, India surprisingly started slowly with only 26 runs being scored in 10 overs. Kohli and Rohit took their time but once they got their eye in, they scored boundaries at will. The dup shared a 138-run stand before Kohli was out for 66. Rohit went on to score his third century in the 2019 ICC World Cup but when he fell for 102, India’s chase fizzled out.
In the 2015 ICC World Cup, Rohit had smashed 138 in the quarterfinal in Melbourne. There was a controversial no-ball that infuriated Bangladesh fans. Rohit had no such problems in the 2019 World Cup. In a clinical exhibition of hitting, Rohit blasted seven fours and five sixes as he notched up his fourth hundred. Rohit started his innings with a six and never looked back.
The batsman got a big life when Tamim Iqbal dropped him on 10. He made Bangladesh pay by hitting another six and two fours off Mustafizur Rahman. Rohit reached his fifty with a six and single off Shakib Al Hasan. After reaching the fifty, he hit a six and a four off Mosaddek Hossain. Rohit neared the hundred with yet another six off Mustafizur. He got to his 26th ton with a single off Shakib but he could not carry on as he fell for 104 to Liton Das.
India made 314/9 and Bangladesh put up a good fight to lose by 25 runs. However, Rohit had established himself as the ultimate run-machine.
Rohit entered new territory with yet another fine display of batting as he created a new world record. The right-hander was in fine form as he ended the league stages on the ultimate high. Sri Lanka was in trouble at 55/4. Angelo Mathews shared a 124-run stand with Lahiru Thirimanne and a 74-run stand with Dhananjaya de Silva. Mathews reached his century and Sri Lanka ended on 264/7.
Nonchalantly, Rohit left off from his previous knocks and continued to redefine batting. Both Rohit and Rahul hit their third consecutive century opening partnership to put the game beyond doubt. Both Rahul and Rohit hit centuries, with Rohit notching up his fifth century. It was a new world record in the World Cup. His knock of 103 included 14 fours and two sixes as India thrashed Sri Lanka to top the table.
Unfortunately, Rohit fell cheaply for 1 in the semi-final against New Zealand and India crashed out of the tournament with an 18-run defeat. It would be a golden 2019 for Rohit, as he ended with 1490 runs at an average of 57 at a strike-rate of 89. He would hit seven centuries in the whole year, with his highest of 159 coming against the West Indies in Vizag.
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