Rohit Sharma smashes blistering 209 off 158 balls, creates world record of sixes in an innings

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Bangalore, Nov 2, 2013 (NDTV): Rohit Sharma went into the history books by hitting a double ton against Australia in the final ODI on Saturday. His second hundred came off just 42 balls to give India the advantage in the series decider.

Opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit was content in playing second-fiddle to his left-handed partner initially. The pair put on their sixth hundred-run opening stand. As Dhawan motored his way to his fifth ODI fifty, Rohit appeared content in keeping the other end steady. A brief rain interruption however hindered India’s flow with Dhawan (60) and Kohli (0) walking back shortly after resumption.

Losing his two partners in a rush however made Rohit shift gears. The 26-year-old completed his half-century off 71 deliveries and from here, freed his arms to send the ball into cheering fans repeatedly. The 28th over from Xavier Doherty and the 29th from Glenn Maxwell were particularly targeted with the batsman hitting two massive sixes in each over.

In the course of his innings, Rohit hit 12 fours and 16 sixes. He completed 3000 runs in ODIs and also 1000 runs in 2013. He also became the second highest individual scorer in ODIs. Sehwag’s 219 is the current world record.

Rohit’s blazing knock guided India to 383/6, a daunting chase for the Australians.

This was Rohit’s second hundred against Australia and with the series poised evenly at 2-2, it could not have come at a more crucial for India.