Indian opener Rohit Sharma has become the first player in the world to score eight ODI centuries in an away country. The 39-year-old veteran broke the world record of seven — which four batters share — against
England in the third ODI at Lord’s, the series-decider.
There couldn’t have been a better way to hit back at all the retirement chatter.
Most centuries by a batter in an away country:
| Player | Country | Host Country | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | India | England | 30 | 1567 | 65.29 | 90.78 | 8 |
| Quinton de Kock | South Africa | India | 21 | 1085 | 51.66 | 104.52 | 7 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | India | 20 | 1125 | 70.31 | 113.98 | 7 |
| Saeed Anwar | Pakistan | U.A.E. | 51 | 2179 | 45.39 | 84.26 | 7 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | U.A.E. | 42 | 1778 | 48.05 | 92.79 | 7 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | India | 23 | 1117 | 53.19 | 94.02 | 6 |
| Virat Kohli | India | Bangladesh | 18 | 1097 | 73.13 | 101.57 | 6 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | Australia | 33 | 1530 | 56.66 | 89.89 | 6 |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | U.A.E. | 20 | 1119 | 62.16 | 85.22 | 5 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | South Africa | 24 | 1048 | 49.90 | 77.80 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | India | Australia | 32 | 1401 | 50.03 | 88.50 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | India | Sri Lanka | 29 | 1086 | 45.25 | 88.43 | 5 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | India | 46 | 1736 | 39.45 | 76.10 | 5 |
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | South Africa | 32 | 1423 | 50.82 | 88.66 | 5 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | Australia | 48 | 2083 | 46.28 | 83.42 | 5 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | Sri Lanka | 41 | 1531 | 42.52 | 81.87 | 5 |
Chasing a mammoth 388, the highest first-innings score at Lord’s, the former Indian skipper found scoring difficult early on as Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson bowled disciplined spells with the new ball.
Rohit was beaten several times outside off, managed a few streaky boundaries through edges and mistimed pulls, and crawled to 24 off 24 balls at the end of the Powerplay.
The momentum shifted in the eighth over when Josh Tongue erred in line. Rohit clipped the first ball to the fine-leg fence, followed it with a commanding trademark pull for four and finished the over with a towering six over backward square leg, collecting 14 runs to ease the pressure. He continued to build steadily, mixing calculated aggression with smart strike rotation as Shubman Gill matched him at the other end.
Rohit reached his fifty off 51 balls in the 21st over with consecutive paddle boundaries off Gus Atkinson. While Gill accelerated against the spinners, Rohit settled into a rhythm, using the sweep effectively against the spinners. The opening pair added 147 runs before Gill was trapped lbw by Rashid for 77.
With Virat Kohli at the crease, Rohit shifted into top gear. He struck Tongue for back-to-back sixes in the 29th over to surge into the nineties. Rashid briefly kept him waiting, but Rohit reached his century by slog-sweeping the leg-spinner over cow corner for four.
The landmark triggered a standing ovation from the Lord’s crowd, while the entire Indian dressing room, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, applauded the innings. Rohit acknowledged the applause with a restrained celebration, keeping his helmet on as he remained focused on the chase.
