New Delhi: Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma made history during India’s first One Day International (ODI) match of a three-match series against South Africa in Ranchi. Building on his impressive performance in the recent ODI series against Australia, where he was named Player of the Series, Sharma continued his form against the Proteas at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.
Sharma accomplished a significant milestone by breaking Shahid Afridi’s record for the most sixes in ODI history, achieving this feat by hitting three sixes in the match. He required only three hits over the boundary to surpass Afridi’s previous record.
Most Sixes in ODIs:
- 352 – Rohit Sharma
- 351 – Shahid Afridi
- 331 – Chris Gayle
- 270 – Sanath Jayasuriya
- 229 – MS Dhoni
Despite being dropped early when he was on just one run, Sharma showed his prowess alongside fellow former captain Virat Kohli, forming a partnership of 136 runs for the second wicket. He launched a sequence of two consecutive sixes against off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen in the 15th over and followed up with another six off Marco Jansen in the 20th over, which brought him to the record.
The 38-year-old also marked his 60th half-century in ODIs, finishing the innings with 57 runs off 50 balls after being dismissed LBW by Marco Jansen.
Earlier in the match, South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first. Stand-in skipper Aiden Markram noted, “We’ll bowl first. Spent a couple of evenings, dew at night time and it’ll be slightly easier to bat at night. Different personnel, the dressing room is at a good place with a lot of energy and fun. It’s an important series, the end role the 2027 WC, still a bit of time, but we’re up against one of the best teams in the world.”
In contrast, India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul stated, “We would have bowled first as well. The preparation has been good, the energy is there with a lot of players coming back, we want to enjoy ourselves in the middle. That’s what the chat has been, we need to use every opportunity we get in the ODI team, this is a great chance to challenge our skills against a very good team.” India deployed three spinners and three fast bowlers for the match.
