Chennai: Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma smashed a magnificent 161 on a tricky Day 1 pitch to help India reach 300 for 6 in the second Test against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Saturday.
During the course of his seventh Test century, Rohit achieved a handful of records.
When he sent England off-spinner Moeen Ali out of the ground, Rohit became the first batsman to hit 200 sixes in international cricket on Indian soil. Ex-India captain MS Dhoni (179 sixes) and Yuvraj Singh (111) are next on the list.
Rohit already holds the Indian record for hitting most number of sixes in international cricket across venues. In 368 games, Rohit has cleared the fence 428 times – the break-up being 244 sixes in ODIs, 127 in T20Is and 57 in Tests.
In another unique feat, Rohit has now hit centuries across all formats – Tests, ODIs and T20 Internationals – against four countries. England apart, Rohit has achieved the feat against Sri Lanka, the West Indies and South Africa.
He is also the first Indian cricketer to score his first 7 Test hundreds at home. The previous mark was held by former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin with 6.
