India vs England: Coming into the ODI series-deciding clash at Lord’s with possibly the most amount of pressure a cricketer has felt in recent times, Rohit Sharma shone the brightest with a historic century at the iconic venue.
Becoming the first Indian batter to hit an ODI century at the home of cricket, Rohit seemed to have found some help from a former teammate. It turned out that the veteran batter used Shardul Thakur’s bat with his name inscribed on the toe of the willow. Thakur, who is part of the Hindi commentary team at Sony Sports, revealed that it was a bat gifted from him that was used by Rohit to score the century.
Rohit Sharma hits century at Lord’s using Shardul Thakur’s bat
Besides the sensational hundred from Rohit Sharma, the thing that intrigued the viewers on social media the most was a little detail in one of the frames of the match video. In the background, one could make out a cricket bat without the manufacturer’s label. Still, this cricket bat turned out to bear not only a cricket bat design made of solid maplewood, but also Shardul Thakur’s name at the end, an element which was rather uncommon. Rohit Sharma has scored a magnificent 100, which deserves the headlines, yet the fans on social media were attracted by a minute detail: while batting, the Indian opener did not have his normal bat on hands but instead a bat with the name of Mumbai teammate, Shardul Thakur, stamped on the toe-end.
Rohit Sharma silences critics with record-breaking century at Lord’s
Coming into the game, there were speculations as to whether this will be Rohit Sharma’s final international match. He had suffered a lean run of form in his last few innings in ODI cricket and with the World Cup approaching next year, it was rumoured that the Indian board was looking at younger options to replace the 39-year-old. Meanwhile, the seasoned opener shut his critics up with one of the most impressive performances, going after England’s bowlers and hitting his century in just 84 balls. What’s more, he not only helped India maintain their chances in their 388-target which was looking impossible to achieve, but also made history at the Home of Cricket by breaking various records.
This 39-year-old made history when he scored the first-ever century by an Indian in an ODI at Lord’s, surpassing Sourav Ganguly’s previous highest score of 90 at the venue. In addition, he scored the 34th century of his ODI career, a feat that really deserves a place among the top batters of all time in that particular format. Rohit also registered his 8th ODI century in England, which is the most by any visiting batter in that single country.