Rohit Sharma scores his 50th ODI half-century against Pakistan, becoming the eighth Indian batsman to accomplish a massive feat
The skipper of Team India, Rohit Sharma, scored his 50th half-century in an ODI during the pivotal Super 4 match of the 2023 Asia Cup against Pakistan. The daring openers had some trouble early on with Naseem Shah, but after he calmed down, the Pakistan bowlers were in trouble. Before being dismissed for 56 by Shadab Khan, he pounded the Pakistani bowlers for 6 fours and 4 sixes to establish his dominance over them. Before reaching Shadab, Rohit blasted him for three sixes.
The Indian skipper became the lone member of the nation to score 50 ODI half-centuries. After Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Yuvraj Singh, he became the eighth Indian batsman to accomplish the feat.
He is now sixth on India’s list of players with 50+ ODI scores.
145 (49 centuries and 96 half centuries) Sachin Tendulkar
111 (46 centuries and 65 half fifties): Virat Kohli
Rahul Dravid has played 94 times (12 eons and 82 half eons).
93 years old (22 centuries and 71 half centuries): Sourav Ganguly
82 (9 centuries and 73 half centuries) MS Dhoni
70 (30 centuries and 50 half centuries) Rohit Sharma
The Hitman, however, was unable to turn his fifty into a triple-digit score when he attempted a huge shot and was caught by Faheem Ashraf close to the boundary line.
He and youthful Shubman Gill put pressure on Pakistan’s bowlers, who were unable to match their performance from the group-stage match against India, thanks to their strong 121-run partnership.
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, chose to bowl first against India in Colombo after winning the toss. Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul were added to the Indian team’s starting XI in lieu of Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer. Iyer’s absence was regrettable since he missed the starting XI due to a back spasm he had before the game.
“Trying to take the lead. There will be a battle up front, but we feel confident because of how we batted the previous time. Every game is significant to us, but we must concentrate on one thing at a time. (On rain delays) That’s just how sports work; it provided us plenty of time to practice, and now we’ll try to perform well. At the toss, Rohit announced two changes: Bumrah was brought back, while Shreyas Iyer had to be replaced by KL Rahul due to a back spasm.
