3 ODI double hundreds in 5 years: Rohit Sharma explains how he did the unfathomable

Rohit Sharma, who struck his third ODI double hundred during the 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka, said there was no secret formula to his success.

Rajarshi Gupta
Rajarshi Gupta
December 14, 2017 | UPDATED 14:14 IST

Highlights

  • 1
    He scored 208 not out from 153 balls in Mohali
  • 2
    Rohit took only 36 balls to go from 100 to 200
  • 3
    He scored 209 against Australia in 2013 and 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014

Rohit Sharma's third ODI double hundred left the cricket world in awe. Sachin Tendulkar, who became the first man to score a double century in one-day internationals, said it was a joy to watch his former teammate while Sourav Ganguly said he was amazed with Rohit's ability to score double tons.

No man had scored a double hundred in one-day internationals up until 2010. As many as seven have been scored since and three of them belong to Rohit. The other four - Tendulkar, Sehwag, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill have one each.

So what does it take to score 200 in an ODI? If you look at the names - Tendulkar, Sehwag, Rohit, Gayle and Guptil - there's one thing in common. All of them were or are openers. You need to be able to play 50 overs or close to get there. Besides, the field restrictions early on in the innings, the hard ball and other conditions allow batsmen to explode and then settle down to notch up those big scores.

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Rohit, however, follows a different template. He stars slowly and then accelerates in the end. That was how he got to 209 vs Australia in Bengaluru in 2013, 264 vs Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014 and 208 not out vs Sri Lanka in 2017 . On Wednesday, he was happy to let Shikhar Dhawan and then Shreyas Iyer take on the bowlers and unleash their full array of shots.

And then, Rohit dazzled everyone including his wife (who was present in the stands) with some scintillating stroke play.

After bringing up his 100 in the 40th over, Rohit took only 36 balls to score the next 100. That is more or less exactly how the script went in Bengaluru and Kolkata. The acceleration always came when he was well set and he reckoned the bowlers had no chance to dismiss him unless he made a mistake.

"If I'm not wrong, the first 100 I got were around the 38th, 39th over, so I was telling myself, if I get that far, I'm not going to get out. I was only looking to keep my shape and hit through the line. It was the same thing I did in my first two 200s. I started off pretty slow then too," Rohit said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Rohit, in an interview with Ravi Shastri for bcci.tv, said he was aware of his game and knew he was not meant for brute force like MS Dhoni or Chris Gayle. Timing is his ally. He also relies heavily on his reading of the game scenario.

That is my style of play," Rohit said in the post-match press briefing. "You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it's all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It's all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it's impossible or difficult, but it's very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred."

So, is there a secret formula to score three double hundreds in five years? "There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots," Rohit said.

Rohit has 16 ODI hundreds now, the fourth most by an Indian batsman after Tendulkar, Kohli and Ganguly. Who knows how many more he will get by the end of his career and who knows how many of those would turn out to be double tons? But there's one certainty - Rohit Sharma will continue to entertain and dazzle for a long, long time.