Who would have predicted that: Rohit Sharma double ton which left Aussies astonished in 2013 ODI series

In our feature series - Who would have predicted that? – we are looking back at matches where there were big upsets or extraordinary individual performances that turned matches on their head.

"I never thought I would score a double century," admits Rohit Sharma in an Instagram chat with Ravichandran Ashwin.

By November, 2013 only two batsmen had notched up a double ton in ODIs, both of whom were Indian - Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Rohit's 209 came in a series between Australia and India in which batters from both sides clubbed fours and sixes for fun as scores in excess of 350 were chased regularly.

 

 

Match Summary

India 383/6 (50 overs) - Rohit Sharma 209 (158), MS Dhoni 62 (38); Xavier Doherty 2/74 (10), James Faulkner 1/75 (10)

Australia 326 (45.1 overs) - James Faulkner 116 (73), Glenn Maxwell 60 (22); Mohammed Shami 3/52(8.1), Ravindra Jadeja 3/73 (10)

Result - India won by 57 runs

 

Following a short rain break, Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for 60. In came Virat Kohli. In a miscommunication - as is common between Sharma and Kohli when at the crease together - Kohli was run-out for zero. With two senior batsmen gone, the onus was now on Rohit Sharma to make up for their quick departure.

Rohit knew that the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was small and with the flat pitch and the type of batting that Australia possessed, no score was safe. So, the opening batsman put his head down and batted normally.

Following the quick dismissals of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, Sharma joined hands with MS Dhoni for a 150+ partnership. He began to accelerate quite early on in the partnership. Rohit hit a record 16 sixes and 12 fours as he piled up 209 runs, finally getting dismissed in the last over.

Fall of wickets: 1-112 (Shikhar Dhawan, 18.6 ov), 2-113 (Virat Kohli, 19.5 ov), 3-185 (Suresh Raina, 29.3 ov), 4-207 (Yuvraj Singh, 33.5 ov), 5-374 (Rohit Sharma, 49.3 ov), 6-383 (MS Dhoni, 49.6 ov)

Chasing 384, Australia did not do a bad job with a quickfire 73-ball 116 from James Faulkner. Shane Watson also played a quick hand. But, with three wickets each from Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja, India bowled out Australia for 326.

With almost five overs remaining, Australia fell just 58 runs short and it was very much possible if they had wickets in hand.

The match nevertheless will be remembered for Rohit Sharma's first ODI double hundred. He went on to score two more of those after his 209 against Australia.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Aaron Finch, 1.2 ov), 2-64 (Phillip Hughes, 12.1 ov), 3-70 (George Bailey, 15.2 ov), 4-74 (Brad Haddin, 16.5 ov), 5-132 (Adam Voges, 21.6 ov), 6-138 (Glenn Maxwell, 22.2 ov), 7-205 (Shane Watson, 28.2 ov), 8-211 (Nathan Coulter-Nile, 30.1 ov), 9-326 (Clint McKay, 44.6 ov), 10-326 (James Faulkner, 45.1 ov)

Teams

India - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami 

Australia - Phillip Hughes, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, George Bailey (c), Glenn Maxwell, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin (wk), James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Coulter-Nile

 

Match Details

IND v AUS, 7th ODI, Australia tour of India 2013 

Date: Saturday, November 02, 2013 

Toss: Australia won the toss and decided to bowl 

Venue: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru 

Umpires: Nigel Llong, Ravi Subramaniam 

Third Umpire: Anil Kumar Chaudhary 

Match Referee: Andy Pycroft 

 

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