India opener Rohit Sharma added two more milestones to his illustrious ODI career on Wednesday, becoming only the third Indian batter to score 12,000 runs in the format and the first batter in ODI history to hit 200 sixes in a single country.
Rohit reached the 12,000-run mark during India’s second ODI against the West Indies at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. He achieved the milestone with a single off Roston Chase in the 16th over, reaching the landmark with his 73rd run of the innings.
The 39-year-old reached 12,000 ODI runs in 282 innings, making him the second-fastest batter to the milestone. Virat Kohli reached the mark in 242 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar took 300 innings. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting reached the milestone in 314 innings and Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara in 336 innings.
Rohit, who made his ODI debut in 2007, has now accumulated 12,000 runs in 290 matches, including 34 centuries and 62 half-centuries. He is only the third Indian after Tendulkar and Kohli to enter the elite club.
The veteran opener also achieved the 200-sixes landmark in the same innings. His six-hitting against the West Indies made him the first batter in ODI history to hit 200 sixes in a single country. West Indies great Chris Gayle previously held the record with 147 ODI sixes in a single country.
Rohit went on to score 101 off 75 balls, striking 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 134.67. His innings came in a record-breaking opening partnership with India captain Shubman Gill.
Rohit and Gill put together 255 runs, the second-highest opening partnership for India in men’s ODIs. The record remains with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who shared a 258-run stand against Kenya at Paarl in 2001.
The Rohit-Gill partnership has now produced 3,058 runs in 47 innings at an average of 66.47, including nine century partnerships and 16 fifty-plus stands.
Rohit’s ODI career has been marked by several records. He holds the record for the highest individual score in men’s ODI cricket, having smashed an unbeaten 264 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014. He is also the only batter to have scored three double-centuries in men’s ODIs.
Gill creates history with fastest ODI double-century
The second ODI also witnessed another major record as India captain Shubman Gill smashed the fastest double-century in ODI cricket.
Gill reached 200 in just 117 balls during India’s chase, surpassing the previous record held by Ishan Kishan, who took 126 balls for his double-century against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022.
Gill also became only the second batter after Glenn Maxwell to score an ODI double-century while chasing. Maxwell had scored an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2023.
The achievement made Gill only the second batter after Rohit Sharma to register multiple double-centuries in men’s ODI cricket.
