Rohit Sharma, captain of the Indian men’s cricket team, scored a century off just 76 balls against England during the second ODI of the ongoing three-match series at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. The 90-ball innings included 12 fours and 7 sixes; Rohit ended up scoring 119. The century was Rohit’s 32nd in 50-over cricket, and it helped India chase down 305 in just 44.3 overs, for the loss of six wickets.
It was a special century for Rohit as it eased a lot of critics who raised a lot of question marks over his future in international cricket. Besides this, he also surpassed Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most centuries in international cricket for India after attaining the age of 30.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a total of 100 centuries in his 24-year international career. After turning 30, Tendulkar crossed the three-figure mark 35 times, whereas Rohit has 36 centuries in his career after achieving his 30th birthday.
| Rank | Player | Country | 100s After 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 43 |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | India | 36 |
| 2 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 36 |
| 2 | Matthew Hayden | Australia | 36 |
| 5 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 35 |
| 6 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 34 |
| 7 | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 30 |
| 8 | Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 29 |
| 9 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 28 |
Rohit scored 10 centuries in Tests, 22 centuries in ODIs, and 4 centuries in T20Is after turning 30.
The overall record for scoring the most centuries after the 30s belongs to the former Sri Lankan captain and legendary batter Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 43 centuries in his 30s; while Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden are on level terms with Rohit (both have scored 36 centuries).
Should Rohit score one more century in international cricket, he will become the third Indian and 10th player overall to score 50 international centuries.
Tendulkar is at the top of the list of batters for the most centuries with 100, and he is followed by Virat Kohli with 81 runs, Ricky Ponting recorded 71 centuries, Kumar Sangakkara scored 63 centuries, and then Jacques Kallis with 62 centuries and Hashim Amla with Mahela Jayawardene getting together 54 centuries, Brian Lara with 53 centuries, and Joe Root on record adding 52 centuries.
Besides already having the record for most centuries by a male ICC T20I player, which now stands at five, he is now third on the list of players with the most centuries in ODIs: hammering 32 in 267 matches in the other format.
