Star Indian batsman Rohit Sharma Saturday became the first batsman in the world to score five hundreds in a single World Cup with a magnificent 103 against Sri Lanka here, eclipsing former Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara’s earlier record of most centuries in a single edition.
Rohit hit a 94-ball 103 for his fifth century of this World Cup from nine matches, which took him one more than Sangakkara, who has four hundreds to his name during the 2015 edition.
“He (Rohit) has done something for others to follow. He is still hungry for runs,” Sangakkara said while commentating for the match. The stylish Indian opener also equalled Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar in the total number of World Cup hundreds. Both the Indians have six hundreds to their names.
Rohit’s other hundred (137) was against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup at the MCG while Tendulkar had amassed his six hundreds in four World Cups (1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011). Tendulkar’s six hundreds have come from 44 innings (total 2278 runs) while Rohit took just 16 innings (total 977 runs) for his six centuries, spanning two World Cups.
The 32-year-old Rohit is likely to go past Tendulkar in the highest number of runs in a single World as he has already scored 647 runs from nine matches, just 26 short of the record 673 in the name of Sachin Tendulkar during the 2003 World Cup. India has already qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing World Cup and Rohit has the chance to go past this record of Tendular also.