Rohit Sharma Hits 400th International Six, Confirms He Is A Big-Hitting Freak

Rohit Sharma has been acknowledged as a six-hitting machine of the Indian cricket team for a long time now. His ability to clear the boundary with ease has been remarkable and it has made the Indian top order very intimidating. During the third and final Twenty20 International against the West Indies at the Wankhede stadium, Rohit achieved yet another feat which put him in an elite list of big hitters in the history of cricket. In the third over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell, Rohit achieved a historic milestone. The Mumbai right-hander thumped a short ball from Cottrell flat and it hit the ropes on the full at wide long on for his first six. However, that hit gave Rohit his 400th six in international cricket and he is now third in the all-time list.

Chris Gayle of the West Indies holds the record for 534 sixes combined across all formats while Pakistan's Shahid Afridi is second on the list with 476 sixes. Rohit is the leading six-hitter in Twenty20 Internationals with 116 hits and in ODIs, he is the leading six-hitter among Indian batsmen with 232 big hits. Recently, he broke the record set by MS Dhoni who had hit 229 sixes. In Tests, Rohit has already hit 52 sixes in 32 Tests, including a record 13 sixes spread across two innings during the recent Test match against South Africa in Vizag.

During the Hyderabad T20I, Rohit had a mixed day in the field but he had set the internet on fire with his fielding prowess. In the 17th and 18th over, there was an exhibition of fielding by Rohit Sharma in which he dived and saved runs, dropped a catch and finally earned redemption with a catch. The sequence started in the first ball of the 17th over bowled by Deepak Chahar. Hetmyer thumped a full ball down the ground where Washington Sundar, who had dropped a catch in the previous over, once again fluffed the chance and the ball was headed to the boundary. However, Rohit put in an acrobatic effort by diving forward and stopping the ball from reaching the fence.

In the next ball, Rohit put in a sensational effort. Pollard top-edged the pull to long on but he hit it with such power that it was going over the ropes at long on. However, Rohit stuck out his right hand and the ball was nestled in his palms. The momentum, though, was taking him over the ropes and his awareness was such that he flicked the ball back onto the field. In the space of two balls, he had saved seven runs. However, Rohit soon felt the old adage that cricket is a great leveller. Chahar bowled a short ball and Pollard blasted the pull shot to widish long on. Rohit, positioned near the boundary, lined up to take a simple catch but the ball burst through his fingers and went away for a six.

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With India dropping so many catches in the death overs, West Indies made them pay and the stage was set for a big onslaught. In the 18th over, there was redemption for Rohit as Hetmyer swept a flighted delivery to long leg where Rohit finally took the catch. Chahal got the wicket of Pollard as well.

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