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Watch: Rohit Sharma's cryptic celebration after India captain begins 2023 with dazzling half-century against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma reached the milestone in style as he got down on his knee before dispatching the ball by Wanindu Hasaranga towards the backward square leg.
After a below par show in 2022, India captain Rohit Sharma started the new year on an emphatic note, slamming a 41-ball half-century in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday. The skipper along with Shubman Gill got India off to a strong start, as the pair added over 143 runs for the opening wicket. (Follow: India vs Sri Lanka Live Score 1st ODI)
Rohit reached the milestone in style as he got down on his knee before dispatching the ball by Wanindu Hasaranga towards the backward square leg. This was his 47th half-century in ODIs and while Rohit would hoped to convert it into a triple digit mark, he was dismissed for 83 off 67 balls by Dilshan Madushanka. His innings featured nine 4s and three maximums.
However, what caught many eyes was Rohit's celebration after reaching the half-century. Soon after completing the feat, Rohit looked up in the sky and muttered a few words, which many fans claimed was dedicated to his pet, which passed away a day before.
Meanwhile, Rohit is making a comeback to the team after recovering from a thumb injury, which he sustained during the ODI series against Bangladesh, forcing him to leave the tour midway. Rohit had walked out to bat with an injured thumb in the second ODI against Bangladesh and had also hit a half-century but his effort went in vain as India lost the contest by five runs.
The Indian captain didn't have the best of outing last year and would hope to make an excellent start to the year. The Indian skipper struggled for both form and fitness in 2022. Despite missing a significant amount of cricket in patches, Rohit made a total of 39 appearances across all formats but his bat remained silent on most occasions.
Rohit mustered a total of 995 international runs throughout the year, which marks the first time since 2012, barring 2020, when he failed to breach the 1000-run mark. Rohit had made only seven appearances in 2020 as world was brought to a standstill due to the rising Covid cases across the globe.
In addition to that, 2022 is also the first year after 2012 when Rohit failed to notch a single ton. His highest score was 76, which came in an the 1st ODI against England in July, a contest that India won by 10 wickets. He scored a total of six half-centuries in the 39 outings, and was dismissed for duck on four occasions.
