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New Delhi: Rohit
Sharma on Thursday returns to International cricket with a sublime double
hundred against Sri Lanka at Kolkata's historic Eden Gardens. He also becomes
the first player to hit 250 and two double hundreds in an One Day International
match. He scored his first ODI double against Australia last November in
Bangalore.
Interestingly, all the
four innings have come in India, all scored by Indian openers. Little Master
was the first to achieve the feat, when he scored an unbeaten 200 (149 balls,
25 fours and seven sixes) against South Africa on 24 Feb 2010. Virender Sehwag
became the second player to hit a double ton on December 8, 2011 against West
Indies. He scored 219 with the help of 25 fours and seven sixes. Rohit Sharma's
first double arrived on November 2, 2013 against Australia. He scored 209 off
158 with the help of 12 sixes and 16 sixes.
The right-handed
batsman got himself out off the last ball of the innings, trying to clear the
straight boundary. But veteran Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene took a calm catch
off Nuwan Kulasekara. By then, he had already scored an awe-inspiring 264 runs
to become the highest scorer in an ODI innings. He is the third player, all
Indian, to hit double hundreds in the 50-overs format. Others were batting
greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
He was given a
lifeline when on four, with Thisara Perera at third man. In fact, he was
dropped three times in his stay at the centre today. After losing two quick
wickets in Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayadu, Rohit and stand-in-skipper Virat
Kohli revived the innings with a stroke-filled 202-run third wicket
partnership.
In his 173-ball
innings, he found the fence 33 times with nine sixes. For the fifth wicket
partnership he and Robin Uthappa added 128 runs in just 58 balls to decimate
the Sri Lankan attack. His innings helped India post a mammoth total of
404 runs in their stipulated 50 overs batting.
The 27-year-old
talented batsman was making a comeback to the Indian One Day International
squad after an injury lay-off. He last played for India on August 27 against
England at Cardiff.
During the England
tour, he sustained a fracture on the middle finger of his right hand, and was
subsequently ruled out.
With India having
already won the five-match series against Sri Lanka, the Indian team management
opted to rotate and provide playing time to as many players as possible ahead
of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Thus, brought in Rohit into the Indian fold.
India have won the
first three matches in Cuttack, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. After today's Kolkata
fixture, the final ODI will be played at Ranchi.
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