Rohit Sharma’s Record-Breaking 264: A Masterclass in ODI Cricket As India Dominated Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma etched his name in the annals of ODI history with a breathtaking innings of 264 runs against Sri Lanka.
This remarkable feat not only set a new benchmark but also highlighted India’s dominance in the game against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka 251 (Mathews 75, Thirimanne 59, Kulkarni 4-34) lost to India 404 for 5 (Rohit 264, Kohli 66) by a margin of 153 runs.
With a hint of nervousness, Rohit Sharma‘s first ODI in ten weeks got underway. He was even held without a point in a maiden Angelo Mathews game. He had become cartoonish in his batting by the end of the innings. He had played every shot in the game. He had covered every inch of ground. There was no bowler who avoided his cruelty.
When he was eventually caught off the penultimate ball of the innings, Rohit finished with 264 off 173 balls, 45 more runs than any other ODI batter had ever accomplished in an innings up until that point. Coincidentally, after hitting at a run-rate of less than six for the first thirty-two overs, India was on 404 for 5.
The first 100 runs, which were scored at a run-a-ball, appear painfully insignificant in compared to the 164 that followed because Rohit’s performance was so absurd. The storm had really started before he made it to 100, when in Nuwan Kulasekara’s 30th over, he scorched 14 runs in four balls. Not long after, with practically every swing he made, the ball would be bounding off the middle of his bat.
The most spectacular shot came from Kulasekara at the end of the 48th over, when he stepped across to off stump, took a half volley from about a foot and a half away from him, and flicked it high over the midwicket boundary. Among his 33 fours and nine sixes, there were many amazing shots. That particular shot and innings appeared to defy the laws of physics.
To prepare for the series, Sri Lanka had played a tour match against Mumbai; little did they know, though, that Rohit was preparing to take them on. In that encounter, which was his first competitive game since breaking a finger in August, he struck 145 from 111, and he has since decisively established himself back at the top of the Indian batting order.
Their involvement in the flogging was the most depressing thing for Sri Lanka. In the sixth over, Shaminda Eranga had given Rohit a heavy outside edge; thisara Perera, at third man, had an easy time with the ball, but he wasted it.
Rohit would become the third Indian centurion in this series to be given a reprieve early in his innings after being dropped on 4. Therefore, it stands to reason that he should be dropped twice given that he scored a double century. He was rewarded by Seekkuge Prasanna, who in the 46th over, with the batsman on 201, smashed another easy chance off Rohit.
In a 14-run first over, Kulasekara had strayed too straight to Rahane in particular, who dismissed him for a string of leg-side fours to get the Indian innings going. The visitors’ bowling effort was limited to one wicket each in the opening fifteen overs, despite more controlled new-ball performances from Angelo Mathews and Eranga. From the 20th over onwards, Sri Lanka’s lines and lengths progressively got worse, and by the 35th over, they were nearly comical.
Between the 30th and 34th overs, India produced another masterfully planned batting Powerplay that brought them 67 runs and disrupted the Sri Lankan bowlers for the remainder of the innings. There was an alarming amount of short, broad deliveries, thigh-high full tosses, and rank long hops, along with awful fielding.
Due to inadequate preparation, Sri Lanka had not been expected to start the series strongly; in fact, during the visit, they have dramatically deteriorated in these two disciplines.
After joining at 59 for 2, Kohli and Rohit quickly put on 202 runs before a misunderstanding between the wickets resulted in Kohli being removed for 66. The most remarkable partnership of the India innings wasn’t even that one. The score was 276 for 4 when Rohit and Robin Uthappa combined in the 41st over. Together, they would score 128 runs in 58 balls. Uthappa contributed a run-a-ball total of 16 to it.
By the time Rohit smashed Kulasekara down Mahela Jayawardene’s throat at long off, he also held half of the ODI scores above 200 and had broken the record for most fours scored in an innings. The record for most balls faced held by Sunil Gavaskar was one he just missed. Gavaskar struck out 36 times.
As Kusal Perera tried to pull a short ball from well outside off stump, he ended up collecting his second duck of the series by scooping a catch to midwicket. Even though Tillakaratne Dilshan was still clearly out of sorts, he managed to survive his two subsequent companions. Stuart Binny was driven by Dinesh Chandimal to take cover, and Umesh Yadav trapped Mahela Jayawardene in front. Even Sri Lanka’s meager prospects of cutting down the score were effectively dashed when Dilshan himself fell, surrendering a catch to short cover off his leading edge.
For the fifth wicket, Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne put up a 118-run partnership. Mathews scored 75 off 68, while Thirimanne scored 59 after rejoining the team. However, despite the batsmen’s rapid progress by typical measures, the run-rate continued to rise, reaching over 11 when the two were separated in the 29th over.
Thisara entered the game to bludgeon 29 and made 23 off an over from Karn Sharma. However, the Powerplay arrived, and Kulkarni defeated him and Thirimanne in four balls to bring home the tail. Kulkarni finished with 4 for 34 after taking out two more lower rank players, and India achieved yet another devastating victory.
