On this day in 2017: Rohit Sharma smashes his third ODI double century

The extremely prestigious double-ton club in ODI cricket is decorated by very few cricketers of the world. Amelia Kerr and Belinda Clark are the only two batters on this elite list. Sachin Tendulkar became the first man to hit a double ton in the history of ODI cricket. Rohit Sharma has achieved something awe-inspiring, and in the same light, his name stands tall in this list thrice.

Rohit is the only batsman who has amassed three double tons in the history of ODI cricket. Two of these three came against Sri Lanka, while the third one came against Australia. On this day in 2017, Sharma stunned the cricketing world yet again with his third double. While the Men in Blue were up against Sri Lanka in the 2nd ODI at Mohali, Sharma had already made up his mind to destroy the bowlers.

The record-breaking innings

Batting first, India posted a mammoth total of 392 runs on the board, where Rohit’s breathtaking innings became the very base of India’s innings. Opening the innings, Rohit wasted no time and took the attack straightaway to the bowlers. He played an unbeaten knock of 208 in 153 deliveries to etch his name in the pages of ODI history.

He was accompanied by Shreyas Iyer’s 88 and Shikhar Dhawan’s 68 to give a big blow to Sri Lankan bowlers. Had he been a little more aggressive, 300 wasn’t looking out of his reach. On the back of his heroics, India won the game by 141 runs and he was named the player of the match without a shadow of a doubt.

Various big names from the cricket fraternity bowed down to his heroics as Sharma clinched another record on his name. India’s grand win levelled the series with Sri Lanka, and Rohit just added another feather to his cap. Sri Lanka already feared the thing that happened to them in Kolkata in 2014, but Sharma decided to give them a flashback, and it got too heavy for the opponents.