Rohit Sharma launched a stunning switch hit for six during his innings-rescuing score of 121* to propel India to a final total of 212-4 in the third T20I of their series against Afghanistan at Bengaluru.

India’s innings was in disarray in the opening powerplay having fallen to 22-4 with both Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson departing for golden ducks off the bowling of Fareed Ahmad.

Rohit himself was coming into the third T20I without a run in either of the first two games of the series. In the series opener, he was involved in a mix-up with Shubman Gill and was run out for nought while in game two, he was bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the first over of the India innings. Given Rohit’s absence from the T20I set-up since the last T20 World Cup, it meant that he hadn’t scored a T20I run since November 2022.

The India captain bided his time as India first looked to first establish some stability following the flurry of early wickets. With Rinku Singh offering support at the other end, the pair consolidated to take India to 65-4 after 11 overs. At this point, Rohit was on 27 off 33 deliveries. A single off his next ball took him to 28 off 34 in the 12th over.

Then came the dramatic acceleration as Rohit took the attack to the left-arm spin of Sharafuddin Ashraf. Off the fourth ball of the 12th over, Rohit smashed Sharafuddin down the ground for six to signal a change in intent. The next ball was more spectacular with Rohit perfectly executing a rarely seen switch hit to dispatch Sharafuddin for six over deep backward point.

From there, the innings just kept on getting better and better for India. They eventually finished on 212-4 with Rohit ending up on 121 not out, his highest T20I score and record-breaking fifth T20I hundred. The 190 runs Rohit and Rinku shared is by far the most runs put on for the fifth wicket in a T20I. The previous record was the 145 runs put on together by the Nepalese pair of Kushal Malla and Dipendree Singh Airee against Hong Kong last year.

Watch Rohit Sharma smashes a switch hit for six:

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