India captain Rohit Sharma answered his critics and trollers in the best way possible on Thursday as he scored a century against England on Day 1 of the third Test in Rajkot.
Rohit won the toss and opted to bat first on a flat pitch at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium but the decision almost backfired as India lost 3 quick wickets for just 33 runs by the 9th over.
The 36-year-old then joined forces with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to weather the early storm from England before upping the ante in the second session.
Rohit was under fire before this knock for not converting his starts into big scores and getting out at crucial junctures in the first two Tests.
He was guilty of throwing his wicket away by playing rash shots but he curbed his natural instincts in the first session as India needed someone to take control of the situation after losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), Shubman Gill (0) and Rajat Patidar (5) to Mark Wood and Tom Hartley, respectively.
Rohit and Jadeja mixed caution with aggression to put on a 100-run plus stand and bail the hosts out of trouble by keeping the scoreboard moving.
The Hitman brought up his 11th Test hundred in the first over after the tea break after Jadeja scored his 21st fifty off 97 balls. India reached 189 for 3 in 52.3 overs with Sharma batting on 101* and Jadeja on 68*.
Another record for the Hitman
Rohit also overtook MS Dhoni to become the second highest six-hitter for India in Test cricket.
Rohit hit his 79th six in Test cricket, going past Dhoni's tally of 78 sixes. Former opener Virender Sehwag heads this Indian list with 91 sixes in the longest format of international cricket.
Most Sixes by Indians in Test cricket:
Virender Sehwag - 90 (103 Tests)
Rohit Sharma - 79* (57 Tests)
MS Dhoni - 78 (90 Tests)
Notably, Rohit Sharma is the leading six-hitter across formats with 590 maximums from 469 matches.
