Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli record their 20th century-plus stand (ODIs)
What's the story
Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have registered their 20th century partnership in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). The duo achieved the milestone during the 1st ODI against South Africa at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi. Rohit and Kohli added a 136-run stand for the second wicket after India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early on. Here are the key stats.
Rohit knock
Rohit powers India with brisk half-century
Unlike the recent trend, Rohit rotated the strike initially after SA elected to field. His first boundary came in the seventh over, bowled by Marco Jansen, which gave him the required rhythm. In the 15th over, he smashed spinner Prenelan Subrayen for back-to-back sixes, before bringing up his half-century. However, Jansen trapped Rohit in front. The latter scored 5 fours and 3 sixes in his 51-ball 57. He scored his 60th ODI fifty.
Kohli knock
Kohli plays his classic knock
Kohli entered in the fourth over after India lost Jaiswal. The former started with a boundary at third man and never looked back. He showed his classic straight and cover drives thereafter. Kohli brought up his half-century with a maximum off Corbin Bosch in the 18th over. Although India lost successive wickets, including that of Rohit, Kohli ticked the scoreboard and reached his ton off 102 balls.
Partnership
Rohit, Kohli joins these legends
As mentioned, Rohit and Kohli recorded their 20th century-plus stand in ODI cricket. The two veteran batters have been powering India to several momentous wins. Only two other pairs have registered 20 or more century stands in the format - Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara (20); Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (26). Notably, Rohit and Kohli also became the third pair with 5,500 partnership runs in ODIs.
Information
Over 5,600 career partnership runs
According to ESPNcricinfo, Rohit and Kohli now have 5,619 runs between them from 102 ODI innings. They have returned unbeaten in this regard six times. Their ODI average as a pair goes past 58 (58.53).