Rohit Sharma Slams Record 264, Says 'Not Tired' After Epic Knock
Rohit Sharma slammed his second double century in ODIs and surpassed Virender Sehwag as the highest individual scorer in the history of the 50-over format.
Rohit Sharma on Thursday created history when he became the first player to score two double hundreds in ODIs. He finished his innings on a record 264 - the highest by any cricketer - against Sri Lanka in Eden Gardens on Thursday. India scored 404/5.
Rohit surpassed several records including Virender Sehwag's 219 and his own 209 - scored against Australia in Bangalore last year. Yet, he was hardly exhausted after his herculean effort. Asked if tired, a sweaty Rohit said he had come back from an injury lay and was determined to play the long innings. "No, not really (tired). I am coming from a two months break. I was ready to bat for another 50 overs. Once I got to 50, I knew I had to come good. I converted 100 into 150 and 200, then 250," he said after the innings.
Rohit's tally of 42 boundaries (33 fours and 9 sixes) is also a record by a batsman in an innings in ODIs, eclipsing the 32 (25 fours, 7 sixes) by Virender Sehwag during his innings of 219 vs West Indies at Indore on December 8, 2011.(Scorecard| Blog)
Dropped on 4 and twice again after completing 200 runs, Rohit did benefit from shoddy fielding and ordinary bowling. The Mumbai batsman however made the most of the chances and was not shy of heaping praise at the Eden Gardens pitch. "I made my Ranji Trophy debut here. I got a hundred on my Test debut, I scored an Indian Premier League hundred here as well," said Rohit, who also became only the fifth Indian batsman after Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to post two or more scores in excess of 150 in ODIs.
This however was not the first time Rohit made history. His previous best knock of 209 had a record 16 sixes. On Wednesday, the Mumbaikar faced 173 balls and broke the record for most fours in an innings. He hit 33 fours.
A team man, the 27-year-old also said that he had the team's total in mind through the course of his sensational innings. "It is important to look at the team score as it was a good batting wicket. We know even 350 can be chased under lights here. It is really important to think while batting," Rohit said.