Sunil Gavaskar namedrops Sehwag after Rohit crushes Afghanistan with record-breaking 100 in WC: ‘Viru was also...’

Sunil Gavaskar reflected on Rohit Sharma’s blockbuster century against Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup.

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was delighted to see Rohit Sharma getting rewarded for his aggressive batting style as the Indian skipper flattened a spirited Afghanistan side with a sizzling century at the ICC World Cup 2023 in New Delhi. The veteran Indian opener smashed a plethora of records with his quick-fire century in match No.9 of the ICC World Cup 2023 between Afghanistan and hosts India on Wednesday.

For batting legend Gavaskar, every century of Rohit is a delight to watch (ANI-PTI)

Dismissed for a duck in India's World Cup 2023 opener against Australia, Rohit returned to scoring ways in grand fashion at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The senior batter smashed his first century of the 2023 World Cup to seal Team India's eight-wicket win over the Rashid Khan-starrer side. The 36-year-old surpassed Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar by topping the list of batters with the most One Day International (ODI) centuries in the history of the World Cup.

Rohit shattered Tendulkar's record of six centuries with his seventh ton at the ODI World Cup. He achieved the staggering feat in just 19 innings while Tendulkar scored 6 centuries in 44. Reflecting on Rohit's blockbuster knock, batting legend Gavaskar pointed out that the Indian opener does not worry about personal milestones. The former India skipper highlighted that Rohit missed a few centuries while focusing on giving India promising starts.

“I'm very happy that he got a hundred because he missed out on a lot of hundreds. With him, he is a risk taker. And therefore sometimes, what happens is, in the 60s, 70s - look at the number of times - where he got the team off to a flying start with half-centuries. But he wants to carry on in the same way because it benefits the team. For example, today, you get that (run rate of) 8 runs per over,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Rohit biggest six-hitter in world cricket

“The strike rate, it helps your net run rate. Who knows what's gonna happen? After another 5-6 matches. You might need those decimal points to qualify. So clearly, he might have missed out on a few hundred, but he entertained all of us. And today was another special occasion. Some of the sixes that he hit, are just unbelievable,” Gavaskar continued.

Becoming the biggest six-hitter in world cricket, Rohit surpassed Chris Gayle's tally of 553 sixes. The Indian opener holds the record for smashing the most sixes (556) in international cricket. Out of 556 sixes, Rohit smoked 297 maximums in ODI cricket. Rohit is followed by Gayle, Shahid Afridi (476) and Brendon McCullum (398) in the elite list.

'Viru was also similar'

“Every century of his is a delight to watch. Because there is that ease with which he seems to be caressing the ball when he is hitting the ball along the ground. Very few batters have the ability to pull, off the front foot that he does. Same thing with Virender Sehwag, Viru was also similar. Opening batter, goes bang-bang and scores 60s-70s, 80s,” Gavaskar explained.

Senior batter Rohit became the joint-fastest batter to complete 1,000 runs in the ODI World Cup. The Indian captain and Australia's David Warner accumulated 1k runs in 19 innings. The Indian skipper completed his century against Afghanistan in 63 balls. Rohit also slammed India's fastest century in the ODI World Cup at Delhi. The previous best was achieved by legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag. Former India opener Sehwag smashed an 81-ball ton against Bermuda in 2007.

“And look, we as cricket fans, lovers of batting, want them to carry on. So when they don't. Then we sometimes get very upset. Like what kind of shot you have played. But they still score 60,70,80s. But we want them to go on and score a hundred. Happy that after January, he has got a hundred. Because this is what India needs, India needs a start from their skipper. The kind of flying start that is given, because that propels a team to a big score,” the batting legend concluded.