Rohit Sharma Breaks Records & Did Pakistan Cheat?
India won against Afghanistan with record-breaking performances by Rohit Sharma, and there were boundary rope controversies in Pakistan's matches in the ICC World Cup.
You all are aware that the ICC Men’s World Cup is going on. India played Afghanistan on 11 October 2023. Afghanistan scored 272 runs. India successfully chased the target in 35 overs and won the match by 8 wickets. Captain Rohit Sharma led the way by scoring 131 runs in 84 balls. Virat Kohli provided solid support with an unbeaten (not out) 50 runs and Ishan Kishan contributed 47 runs. During this match, Hitman Rohit Sharma also created 5 smashing records with his century.
- Rohit Sharma has hit 553 sixes in 473 innings (international matches - T20 / ODI and Test). Earlier Chris Gayle had hit 553 sixes in 551 innings. Rohit also overtook Sachin Tendulkar for the most sixes among Indians in ODI World Cups - 28.
- Rohit Sharma scored the fastest World Cup century by an Indian, reaching it in just 63 balls. Earlier the record was by Kapil Dev who scored a century in 72 balls.
- Rohit Sharma now holds the record for the most World Cup centuries. He and Sachin Tendulkar had an equal number of centuries in the World Cup. He achieved his 7th century in just 19 innings across three World Cup editions while Tendulkar took 44 innings.
- Rohit Sharma has scored 1000 runs in World Cups in 19 innings. The same 1000 runs in 19 innings is also made by David Warner. They are the fastest players to reach 1000 runs in ODI World Cups in 19 innings. He is the fourth Indian to score 1000 runs, joining the ranks of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Virat Kohli.
- Rohit Sharma, at 36 years and 164 days, is the oldest captain to score a World Cup century.
- In 53 innings, Virat Kohli scored 2311 runs, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in ICC World Cups (combining ODIs and T20Is). Sachin, who only participated in 50-over World Cups, scored 2278 runs from 45 innings.
Amidst the excitement and anticipation of the Pakistan - Sri Lanka match on 10th October, there was a controversy. Kusal Mendis from Sri Lanka, was caught out near the boundary. But what raised eyebrows was the suspicious displacement of the boundary rope. Interestingly, this wasn't the first time Pakistan found themselves in the midst of such a controversy during the ODI World Cup 2023. In their match against the Netherlands on 6th October, the boundary cushion had been displaced. The issue was initially spotted during the 21st over of the second innings (when Netherland was batting) when the boundary cushion was noticeably a few feet behind the marked white line beneath it. The incident has led to a heated debate among fans, with some raising questions about whether Pakistan was involved in foul play or if it was merely a case of human error.
