Rohit Sharma Reflects On Match-Winning Century Against England In Cuttack ODI

February 10, 2025: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, after his spectacular match-winning century against England in the second ODI at Cuttack, shared his thoughts on the innings and how he overcame a string of recent failures, especially in Test cricket. His explosive knock played a crucial role in India’s four-wicket victory.

Rohit, in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said that a few failures wouldn’t affect his approach to batting. “I have been here long enough, so one or two knocks would not change my mind and the way I bat. It was just about doing your things, I did my thing. Just another day at the office,” he explained. He further emphasized the importance of enjoying the game and maintaining a positive mindset, saying, “In my mind, it was about enjoying.”

Rohit’s performance was a testament to his resilience. After struggling with a few low scores recently, his century in Cuttack brought him back to his best, reminding everyone why he is one of the most dangerous players in limited-overs cricket. “When you score so many runs, you have done something right. You just need to get back to that, the mindset of scoring runs,” he said.

With his 119-run blitzkrieg off 90 balls, including 12 fours and 7 sixes, Rohit made an impact not only on the scoreboard but also in the record books. He overtook legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar to become the second-highest run-scorer for India as an opener in international cricket, with a total of 15,404 runs in 343 matches. Only Virender Sehwag has more runs than him as an opener for India. Rohit also closed in on former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s record for the most sixes in men’s ODIs, with 338 sixes to his name, just 13 behind Afridi’s tally of 351.

The victory also marked Rohit’s 36th win as captain in ODIs, tying him with the great Viv Richards for the third-highest number of ODI wins as captain. He is now just a few wins away from equaling Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli’s record of 39 ODI wins as captains.

The match saw England post a total of 304 runs, thanks to solid knocks from Joe Root (69) and Ben Duckett (65), with contributions from Liam Livingstone (41) and Jos Buttler (34). In response, India’s chase was led by Rohit’s blistering century and a solid 60 from Shubman Gill. Shreyas Iyer (44) and Axar Patel (41*) provided the necessary support to see India through to victory, with Jamie Overton (2 wickets) leading the English bowling attack.

Ravindra Jadeja was the standout performer with the ball for India, taking three crucial wickets in his 10-over spell to help restrict England’s total.

With this comprehensive win, India took a step closer to securing the series, and Rohit Sharma once again proved why he remains one of the best batsmen in world cricket.