On Wednesday, the great Indian opener Rohit Sharma, a contemporary titan of white-ball cricket, celebrated his 38th birthday. Throughout his remarkable career, the Indian “Hitman” made several great knocks, but his whirlwind against Sri Lanka in 2014—the renowned 264 folklore—may be the most memorable.
April 30, New Delhi, India (ANI): On Wednesday, the great Indian opener Rohit Sharma, a contemporary titan of white-ball cricket, celebrated his 38th birthday. Throughout his successful career, the Indian “Hitman” has played several memorable knocks, but his whirlwind against Sri Lanka in 2014—the renowned 264 folklore—possibly stands out above the others.
‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar had raised the bar in the 50-over format with a double century against South Africa at Gwalior in 2010 before Rohit set a new standard in the ODI format in 2014. The world froze that day, watched in a daze, and couldn’t comprehend that someone had actually hit the elusive 200-run barrier in ODIs.
Rohit has already reached the double hundred mark in the format in 2013, so it wasn’t his first time. However, his heroic performance in 2014 really set the standard for everyone and defined the art of batting. The record for the greatest individual score in ODI history is still the otherworldly 264 runs that Rohit’s bat produced.
After four years, something extraordinary happened at Kolkata’s famous Eden Gardens, the site of cricket. Few people could understand the knock when they watched to see what Rohit would put on the plate.
Had Rohit not survived that early scare, his bravery would have been lost to history. On 4(16), Thisara Perera dropped Rohit, a regulation catch that the Sri Lankan inexplicably failed to make. Sri Lanka lamented this moment for the remainder of the match.
For his first 100 runs, Rohit was alert and careful as the sun shone over Eden. Once Rohit crossed the line, however, he was free to express himself without worrying about the consequences.
In the next 25 deliveries, he reached the 150-run milestone while dancing around the crease, grinning broadly, and hitting boundaries with style. Seekuge Prasanna and Angelo Mathews were trapped in Rohit’s seemingly never-ending fire.
Over the course of the following 26 deliveries, Rohit fully embraced his destructive nature, causing a calamity that anyone who saw it can still clearly remember. To reach the 200-run milestone, he swung his bat fiercely and displayed his nerve when hitting boundaries with a variety of shots from his full arsenal.
He yelled in celebration of the moment that was rightfully his, raising both arms in the air as though they were enclosing the sky. Rohit demonstrated that he still had more to offer when it was considered that he might be finished with his adventures. He really demonstrated how six-hitting comes naturally to him in the last 22 deliveries. He hit the ball past the fence in the desired spot regardless of the line and length of the deliveries.
Rohit dominated Sri Lanka with nine boundaries and three sixes in his last 22 deliveries. When he holed it to Mahela Jayawardene off Nuwan Kulasekara on 264 (173), his adventures came to an end. India soared to a 404/5, much beyond Sri Lanka’s capabilities. Having cemented his legacy, Rohit savored the moment as India celebrated its 153-run victory. (ANI)
