OTD Rohit Sharma became first batter to score five hundreds in a World Cup

Indian opener and then vice-captain Rohit Sharma became the first player to score five centuries in a single edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on July 6, 2019. The historic feat came during India’s last group stage match of the 2019 World Cup against Sri Lanka at Headingley in Leeds.

Rohit’s dream run in the tournament saw him consistently deliver with the bat at the top of the order. He smashed 103 off 94 balls against Sri Lanka, lacing his knock with 14 fours and two sixes, to help the Men in Blue chase down 265, sealing a seven-wicket victory with 39 balls to spare. Before this contest, Rohit had already notched up four centuries, including an unbeaten 122 vs South Africa, 140 vs Pakistan, 102 vs England, and 104 vs Bangladesh as India finished the group stage with seven wins in nine matches.

With the hundred against Sri Lanka, Rohit surpassed the previous record for most centuries in a single World Cup edition, held by Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who had scored four tons in the 2015 tournament. Notably, Rohit’s ton at Leeds was also his third consecutive century of the tournament and his 27th overall in ODIs at the time.

Rohit finished the 2019 World Cup as the tournament’s top run-getter, scoring 648 runs in nine innings at an average of 81.00 and a strike rate of 98.33. It was the third-highest tally in a single edition of the World Cup, only behind Sachin Tendulkar’s 673 in 2003 and Matthew Hayden’s 659 in 2007, until Virat Kohli surpassed all with 765 runs in the 2023 edition.

Rohit also became only the second Indian after Tendulkar to score more than 600 runs in a single World Cup. Although he couldn’t carry his great form into the semi-final against New Zealand, where he was dismissed for just one run in India’s agonising loss.

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