Rohit breaks Sachin’s record to reach new milestone as opener

Rohit Sharma, former captain of India, has touched a new milestone with the bat in the first match of the ODI series against West Indies. By batting in his 200th innings as an opener in ODIs he has surpassed the record of legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

Rohit had started well after going out to chase the target of 296 runs set by West Indies at Greenfield International Stadium. However, he returned to the pavilion after scoring 32 runs. This experienced batter hit two fours and three sixes in his 38-ball innings.

Due to this innings Rohit’s total runs as an opener in 200 innings in ODIs have stood at 9,897. Sachin’s runs in the same position were 9,217. As a result the record of highest runs after 200 innings as an opener is now in Rohit’s possession.

Rohit was also in discussion by playing excellent batting in the previous innings against West Indies. He had played a splendid innings of 138 runs off 110 balls at Lord’s in London. Various speculations going on about his retirement also ended after that innings.

Rohit’s collection is 11,927 runs in 288 matches in ODIs so far. 34 centuries have come from his bat. His highest individual innings in ODIs is 264 runs, which is still a world record. He needs another 103 runs to complete 10,000 ODI runs as an opener. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian opener to achieve this feat.

Meanwhile Rohit is also in the top row in the count of sixes against West Indies. His number of sixes against the Caribbeans has stood at 38, which is the second highest after AB de Villiers.

Earlier after losing the toss and batting first John Campbell and Justin Greaves gave West Indies a good start. Greaves played an innings of 101 runs and took the first century of his ODI career. However, the team came under pressure by losing a few wickets quickly later.

Later Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase built a partnership of 52 runs and handled the situation. Ultimately West Indies scored 296 runs losing 7 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs.