Rohit Sharma silences retirement talk with record-breaking Lord’s century, BREAKS Chris Gayle’s SENA sixes record

With the series-deciding ODI against England at Lord’s set to see India chasing a mammoth target, all eyes were on Rohit Sharma. The seasoned opener was under pressure going into the match after a lean patch with the bat and constant speculation surrounding his ODI future. Instead of responding with words, Rohit answered in the best possible way – with a memorable hundred that kept India in the contest and added several records to his already glittering career.

Rohit ends lean patch with brilliant hundred

Rohit looked positive from the start despite the challenging target of 388. After surviving the early movement, he settled into his innings and gradually took control of the England attack.

The milestone moment came when he reached his 34th ODI century with a boundary off Adil Rashid. The entire Indian team rose to applaud the knock, while head coach Gautam Gambhir also stood to acknowledge the innings from the dressing room. Virat Kohli walked across to congratulate Rohit as the opener acknowledged the applause from the packed Lord’s crowd.

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It was an innings that arrived at the perfect time, helping India stay alive in the chase after questions had been raised over his recent form.

Rohit goes past Chris Gayle in six-hitting record

The century was not the only achievement of the day. During his innings, Rohit also overtook West Indies legend Chris Gayle for the most sixes in international cricket against SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia).

He achieved the milestone in the 11th over by hitting Sam Curran for a huge six.

Most sixes in international cricket vs SENA teams

343 – Rohit Sharma*

342 – Chris Gayle

179 – Virat Kohli

177 – MS Dhoni

176 – Shahid Afridi

Another historic milestone in England

Rohit added another special achievement by becoming the first overseas batter to score 1,500 ODI runs in England.

He also completed 9,000 international runs as an opener against SENA nations, highlighting his consistency against the strongest cricket-playing countries.

Adding another landmark to the list, Rohit became the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s, surpassing Sourav Ganguly’s previous highest score of 90 against England at the venue in 2004.

Also Read: Yuvraj Singh breaks silence on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli’s India future amid retirement talk

Century comes amid retirement speculation

The Lord’s ODI had attracted huge attention following reports that it could be Rohit Sharma’s final ODI appearance for India.

However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed those reports before the match, making it clear that there had been no discussion regarding Rohit’s ODI future.

The veteran opener responded in perfect fashion, producing one of his finest knocks under pressure and reminding everyone why he remains one of India’s biggest match-winners.

England set record total before Rohit’s fightback

Earlier, England piled up 387/3, the highest ODI total ever scored at Lord’s.

Ben Duckett led the charge with a magnificent 141, while Jacob Bethell made 91. Joe Root continued his good form with an unbeaten 74 and Jos Buttler hammered 41 not out as England set a daunting target. Against the odds, Rohit’s century gave India real hope in the chase and put the spotlight back on the veteran opener on one of cricket’s biggest stages.