Saturday felt like the day every cricket fan had been waiting for — the day “Ro-Ko” finally decided to steal the show by taking us back a decade to once more show us the times when they dominated world cricket. With the Sydney Cricket Ground sold out even for a dead-rubber, the stage was perfectly set for Rohit and Virat to remind everyone why they remain ODI heavyweights.
Team India restored some parity with their dominating performance at the SCG against hosts Australia; bossing the Kangaroos by nine wickets courtesy a magnificent 168-run unbeaten partnership by stalwarts Rohit (121*) and Virat (74*). Though India lost the ODI series 1-2, multiple records were broken by the bigwigs. Ankit Pattnaik takes a look at the startling numbers:
9 – Rohit Sharma equalled legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of nine ODI centuries against Australia
50 – This was Hitman’s 50th century across formats
2 – During his knock of 74*, Virat Kohli became the second-highest run-getter in ODIs surpassing Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234). With 14,255 runs, Kohli stands just behind the little master, who has 18,426 runs in ODIs
3 – The top three position among centurions in the ODI format, is now held by Indians. Kohli (51), Sachin (49) and Rohit (33)
5,483 – Rohit and Virat added yet another century partnership to their name at the SCG. With 5,483 runs, the superstar duo has the third-highest partnership aggregate in ODI cricket history. The highest run-aggregate is held by Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who have stitched together 8,227 runs
12 – Following their unbeaten 168-run stand, the ‘RoKo’ pair equalled the most 150+ partnerships in ODIs, They join the elite list of Sachin and Sourav. Third in the list is the Sri Lankan duo of Tillakaratne Dilshan & Sangakkara