Rohit Sharma doesn't let twin run-outs deter him from a 17th ODI century.
Rohit Sharma slammed his 17th century in 50-over cricket during the fifth ODI between India and South Africa on Tuesday.
Put into bat first, India were looking good for a 350-plus score at one point with Rohit and Virat Kohli batting full steam. But back to back run-outs of the Indian captain and No.4 Ajinkya Rahane pegged the visitors back.
Rohit, as flustered as he looked from the outside, didn't let the setbacks deter him from a well-deserved hundred. The right-hander brought up his milestone off the 107th delivery he faced. He'd smashed 10 fours and four trademark maximums at that point.
This was a much-needed knock for Rohit. The Mumbaikar has had a horror tour so far, failing in the two Tests and four ODIs he had played before this. His effort in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday gave India a fighting chance of clinching their first ODI series in South Africa.
Twitter was elated with Rohit coming back to form in style. The 30-year-old is a favourite for trolls after every failure of his with the bat. This time, though, there were nothing but compliments for Rohit's graceful batting.
Here are some tweets
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the fifth ODI. India named an unchanged eleven while South Africa brought in spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for injured all-rounder Chris Morris.
Following the toss, Indian skipper Kohli said that they too would have opted to bowl first had they won the toss, adding that they would try to restrict South Africa to a low total.
"We wanted to bowl first as well. Restrict them a total that we could chase down. The whole idea was to bowl at them for 50 overs with our wrist-spinners, who can exploit any conditions. Nevertheless, it will be a good wicket to play on throughout," Kohli said.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
South Africa: Aiden Markram(captain), Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungisani Ngidi, Morne Morkel, Tabraiz Shamsi
(Inputs from PTI)
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