Rohit Sharma was in record-breaking mood on Saturday as he hit his second century of the match against South Africa.
The opening batsman followed up his first-innings 176 with a 149-ball knock of 127 in the second innings, helping India to a declaration total of 323-4 to set the Proteas a target of 395 in the opening Test of the series.
Centuries in both innings of a Test by Indian openers:
Sunil Gavaskar:
124 & 220 v West Indies, Trinidad, 1971
111 & 137 v Pakistan, Karachi, 1978
107 & 182* v West Indies, Kolkata, 1978Rohit Sharma:
176 & 105* v South Africa, Visakhapatnam, 2019#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/8z9Kzk08Xt
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 5, 2019
By reaching three figures in the match, Rohit became just the second Indian opener – after Sunil Gavaskar – to hit centuries in both innings of a Test. Much like his knock on the opening day, Rohit was happy to go aerial. Having hit six sixes in his first century of the match, he went one better on day four, striking seven maximums. With his final six, he broke Wasim Akram’s record for the most sixes hit by an individual in a Test match, while India’s 27 sixes was also a record by a team in a single Test match.
With this being Rohit’s first Test at the top of the order, his exploits with the bat have also made him the first batsman to hit twin tons on their Test debut as an opener.
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Rohit’s runs in this match have also extended his consecutive run of fifty-plus Test scores at home, where he averages 97.45 with the bat, under a run less than Sir Don Bradman. The 32-year-old has now passed fifty in seven innings in a row in India, a run that stretches back to October 2016.
Beyond Rohit’s efforts, Cheteshwar Pujara hit 81 in India’s second innings. The day concluded with South Africa 11-1 after first-innings centurion Dean Elgar was out lbw to Ravindra Jadeja early in the fourth innings.
