Rohit Sharma scored 75 runs from 73 balls for Team India on Saturday (December 6) in the third ODI against South Africa and helped them secure a big win by nine wickets to bag the series with a scoreline of 2-1. During his stay at the crease in the series decider played at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Rohit hammered 7 fours and 3 sixes and also added 155 runs for the first wicket with young Yashasvi Jaiswal, who went on to score his maiden ODI century in the 271-run chase.
During his knock against the Temba Bavuma-led side, Rohit completed 20,000 runs in international cricket, equalled David Warner’s record of most sixes in international cricket against South Africa and also became the fifth batter in the world
after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis to score 5,000 ODI runs in home venues.
The third India-South Africa ODI in Visakhapatnam was Rohit’s 97th 50-over match in India, and he now has 5013 runs to his credit.
The overall record of scoring the most ODI runs in home venues is in the name of Tendulkar. The legendary batter and former India captain played 164 ODIs in India and amassed a total of 6796 runs. He is followed by Kohli, who has slammed 6627 runs in 127 ODIs played so far in India. Ponting finished his career with 5406 runs in 154 ODIs in Australia, and Kallis scored 5178 runs in 135 innings of 142 ODIs played in South Africa.
Most ODI runs in home venues
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST | 100/50 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 164 | 6976 | 200* | 20/38 |
| Virat Kohli | India | 127 | 6627 | 166* | 26/35 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | 153 | 5406 | 134* | 13/32 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 142 | 5178 | 139 | 6/20 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 97 | 5013 | 264 | 14/24 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 142 | 4724 | 169 | 4/33 |
| MS Dhoni | India | 127 | 4351 | 183* | 7/25 |
| Martin Guptill | New Zealand | 102 | 4285 | 237* | 11/22 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | 120 | 4217 | 162 | 7/25 |
| Ross Taylor | New Zealand | 110 | 4104 | 181* | 12/22 |
Rohit, who will next play ODIs for India in January 2026 against New Zealand in India, will have a chance to go past Kallis and Ponting’s tally of runs in that assignment.
In addition to him, Kohli will also have an opportunity to become the first cricketer in the world to score 7000 ODI runs in home venues.
Like Rohit, Kohli also impressed with his batting on Saturday. The former India captain came out to bat at No. 3 after Rohit’s dismissal and remained unbeaten on 65 runs. He faced 45 balls during his stay at the crease and slammed six fours and three sixes.
