Cometh the hour, cometh the HIT-MAN and Rohit Sharma is there to deliver as he led India's fightback in the 338-run chase against England in the ongoing World Cup in Birmingham on Sunday. The destructive opening batsman slammed his 25th ODI century, his third of the tournament, equalling former India captain Sourav Ganguly's number in the tournament. (IND vs ENG WC Match Updates)
Rohit slammed 15 fours and surprisingly, no sixes in his knock. However, chasing a challenging total set by the Englishmen, Rohit was removed by Chris Woakes for 102. In the chase, India lost KL Rahul early for a duck, which saw Rohit and skipper Virat Kohli build India's innings, but at a very cautious rate. The duo stitched a 138-run stand before the skipper was removed for 66.
Earlier, another opener slammed a century as Jonny Bairstow ripped apart India's spin unit by slamming his 8th ODI century. Bairstow's scathing attack on spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Singh headlined a dominant English batting performance, leaving India with a tough chase on Sunday.
Bairstow (111 off 109 balls), along with fit-again Jason Roy (66 off 57 balls), added 160 for the first wicket on a track where Kuldeep (1/72 in 10 overs) and Chahal (0/88 in 10 overs) had a forgettable day.
Ben Stokes (79 off 54 balls) then used the platform to give the total an imposing look in a do-or-die game for the hosts.
Mohammed Shami (5 for 69) got his maiden five-wicket haul but even he lost his bearings in the last two overs.
