When India needed their captain the most on Tuesday in the crucial Asia Cup 2022 tie against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma stood up with a fiery knock of 72 runs off 41 balls that helped revive the team after going two down early in the Super 4 game in Dubai. And en route to his 32nd fifty-plus score in the T20I format, Rohit shattered two spectacular records in Asia Cup, previously owned by cricketing greats Sachin Tendulkar and Shahid Afridi respectively. (India vs Sri Lanka Live Score, Asia Cup 2022)
Put to bat first in the do-or-die match against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium, India lost both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the first three overs. Maheesh Theekshana bamboozled Rahul for just six off seven balls, while left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka castled down the middle and leg stumps to dismiss Kohli for a four-ball duck.
The pressure was immensely on Rohit to not just revive India from that low, but also to lay the perfect foundation for middle-order power hitters to play their game confidently in their bid to post a challenging total. The skipper fired five boundaries and four maximums in his fiery 41-ball 72 to take India from 13 for 2 in 2.4 overs to 110 for three in 12.2 overs. And the skipper was ably supported by Suryakumar Yadav in their 97-run stand as the No.4 batter scored a watchful 29-ball 34, laced with a six and one boundary.
With two of his four sixes during the knock, Rohit went past former Pakistan captain Afridi to record the most number if sixes in Asia Cup history. Rohit now stands atop with 29 maximums in 31 Asia Cup appearances, three more that previous-record holder Afridi. The next best by an Indian on the list is veteran cricketer Suresh Raina, who on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, with 18 sixes.
{{/usCountry}}With two of his four sixes during the knock, Rohit went past former Pakistan captain Afridi to record the most number if sixes in Asia Cup history. Rohit now stands atop with 29 maximums in 31 Asia Cup appearances, three more that previous-record holder Afridi. The next best by an Indian on the list is veteran cricketer Suresh Raina, who on Tuesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, with 18 sixes.
{{/usCountry}}En route to his fifty, Rohit also became the highest-scoring Indian cricketer in Asia Cup history, as he surpassed the legendary Sachin (970 runs). At the end of his fiery knock, Rohit also became the first India batter to score 1000 runs in Asia Cup and third overall, as his present tally stands at 1016 runs in 30 innings, standing only behind Sri Lanka greats Sanath Jayasuriya (1220 runs) and Kumar Sangakkara (1075 runs).
Rohit also went at par with Sachin on another elusive Asia Cup list. The 72-run knock was his ninth fifty-plus score in Asia Cup history, which places him alongside Sachin in the second spot after Sangakkara's tally of 12 such scores.