Ranchi: After turning the clock back in Sydney a month ago, Team India’s ageing superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did it again – this time at Ranchi on Sunday.
A rollicking 136-run partnership between Rohit and Kohli (Ro-Ko) for the second wicket, after Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed in the fourth over, helped the men in blue post a formidable 349/8 in the first ODI.
Kohli was in magical form from the first ball he faced, hitting a flurry of fours and sixes and flying to 80 in no time. He slowed down a tad but after completing a record-extending 52nd ODI century, Kohli put his foot on the accelerator. His 135 came off just 120 balls, and included 11 fours and 7 sixes.
Rohit had a slice of luck early in his innings, being dropped on the boundary line by Tony de Zorzi. Thereafter, the Hit-man eased into his rhythm and dispatched the South African pacers and spinners to all parts of the JSCA Stadium.
Rohit, who fell leg-before wicket to Team India’s Test series tormentor Marco Jansen, smashed 57 off 51 deliveries, with 5 fours and 3 sixes.
In the process, Rohit became the batter with most number of overboundaries in ODI cricket. The former India captain took his tally of sixes in this format to a staggering 352, obliterating Pakistani power-hitter Shahid Afridi’s record.
While Afridi had taken 377 innings for that record, Rohiit did it in 277 knocks.
