Rohit Sharma – Indian Cricket’s new World Cup batting maestro?

The recently concluded Cricket World Cup saw some riveting nail-biting finishes throughout the 45-day event. The 12^th edition of the tournament, which saw host nation England lifting the trophy for the first time, witnessed one of the greatest World Cup finals in history for any sporting event. Apart from thrilling contests, the tournament also witnessed some exceptional individual batting and bowling brilliance. In terms of batting, the 2019 event saw a record seven batsmen aggregating over 500 runs, with India’s very own ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma leading the batting charts.

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Rohit Sharma’s Centuries:

In a rampaging display of elegance and brutal hitting, the Indian opening batsman smashed five centuries throughout the tournament, a record for any single edition. Having previously played in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup where he cracked a match-winning 137 against Bangladesh in the quarter-final, his five tons in the latest edition takes his overall World Cup century tally to six, a world record for any player in the game’s most prestigious event. The Mumbai Indians captain overtook former Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar in terms of number of centuries scored. Just like ‘The Master Blaster’ during Indian cricket’s yester-years, Rohit Sharma has become India’s most reliable batsman in crunch World Cup situations.

Hitman’s ICC Cricket World Cup Track Record:

Playing only in his 2^nd World Cup, the dashing Indian opener scored 648 runs at a staggering average of 81. His run tally included five centuries and one half-century, with all his 50+ scores coming in the group stage itself. Out of his five centuries, four resulted in Indian wins while his 102 against England was in vain and was India’s first defeat of the tournament. Even in the previous World Cup, Rohit was one of the star batsmen from the Indian line-up as he scored 330 runs in India’s run to the semi-finals ‘Down Under’.

His run spree in England came at a strike rate of 98.33 and was laced with 14 towering sixes and 67 hits to the fence. Match-winning tons against South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and arch-rivals Pakistan propelled India to top the group stage with 7 wins in 9 matches. In just two World Cups thus far, the 32-year old has scored a mammoth 978 runs in only 17 matches. With age still on his side, ‘Hitman’ will be raring to have another crack at the trophy with the next edition being held in his home country in 2023.

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