This one is for Virendra Sehwag, says Rohit Sharma

309. The very score reminds every Indian of Virender Sehwag’s first triple ton in Multan against Pakistan some five years back. But for Mumbai cricket lovers, it will be rechristened as Rohit Sharma’s exploits in the 2009 Ranji Trophy.

Though Sehwag whacked it in Tests, Sharma did it against Gujarat at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday. Scores may be same but the style is different. The Delhi opener was marauding in his effort while Sharma’s innings was marked with elegance.

But if we go by Sharma, Sehwag is the one who ignited the fire in him during an interaction of late. “I met Sehwag in a get-together and he was telling me ‘hundred toh sab banate hai, 200 or 300 kam log banate hai, so try for that’…So I want to dedicate this triple ton to Sehwag,” Sharma said after his heroics on Wednesday.

Just like Sehwag, Rohit felt that he wanted a big score to silence his critics who labelled him as a batsman for the shorter version only. “I think I have made my point clear to those who doubted my abilities in this format,” Rohit said.

But on his comparison with Sehwag, he said, “I am not exactly like him but I also like to get after the ball.”