Rohit Sharma became the seventh Indian player to go past 9000 runs in ODIs. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
New Delhi:
Rohit Sharma entered a very prestigious club of cricketers during the third and final ODI against Australia at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday. When Rohit clipped a full ball from Pat Cummins to the deep backward square leg fence, he reached 9000 ODI runs in his 217th innings. He became the third-fastest Indian and seventh overall to go past 9000 runs in ODIs. India skipper Virat Kohli holds the record for the fastest to 9000 runs, having taken just 194 innings to reach the mark. AB de Villiers of South Africa is second-best, having taken 208 innings to go past 9000 ODI runs.
Rohit has an excellent limited-overs record against Australia. He has hit seven centuries against them, including his first double century at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in 2013. He has scored over 2000 runs against Australia and has hit over 70 sixes against them in ODIs, which is the most by any player against the five-time champions.
Rohit was named the ICC's '2019 ODI Cricketer of the Year' for his incredible run of form, while English all-rounder Ben Stokes walked away with the overall honours. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was named captain of both the ICC’s Test and ODI teams of the year besides winning the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award for his gesture of trying to stop the fans from booing Steve Smith during a World Cup match. Smith was returning to international cricket from a one-year suspension for ball-tampering at that time. Rohit is looking forward to carrying his form in the coming year, after an aggregate of 1409 runs from 28 matches with seven hundreds in the ODI format.
Rohit Sharma is the third-fastest player after Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to reach 9000 ODI runs. (Image credit: Getty Images)
"It is great to be recognised in this fashion. We are very happy with the way we performed as a team in 2019. We could have done better but we have a lot of positives and a lot to look forward to in 2020," Rohit said. Rohit became the first player to hit three double centuries in ODIs and four centuries in Twenty20 Internationals.
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In Tests, Rohit had endured a struggle but in the recent series against South Africa and Bangladesh, Rohit broke his rut in Tests by registering big scores. Having received brickbats and praise in equal measures during his 12-year international career, Rohit said he was enjoying the mental space he currently is in and says his wife and kid are responsible for making him a better player and that criticism does not affect him anymore.
