In his only third Test as an opener, Rohit Sharma has scored his first-ever double century.
Rohit Sharma, playing in his only third Test as an opener, reached his first-ever double-century in the longest format of the game. The Mumbai batsman arrived on Day 2 with intent to score quick runs and punished the South African bowlers as he hammered the deliveries left, right and centre to reach his first double hundred in Tests.
Rohit took 249 deliveries to reach the 200-run mark, hitting 28 fours and 5 sixes in the innings. He is the 23rd Indian to score a double-century in Test cricket, and the fourth batsman to score a double ton in both Tests and ODIs, joining Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle in the elite list.
It was almost an exhibition in power-hitting in the first session of play on Day 2, as Rohit Sharma resumed from an unbeaten 117. In merely 85 deliveries, Rohit scored 88 runs to reach his maiden 200. However, the beginning of Day 2 was in complete contrast to the first day of the match, where Rohit Sharma braved a fiery spell from Kagiso Rabada to not only smoothen the Indian innings, but eventually put his side in command at the end of the day. He was beaten on a number of occasions but remained undeterred even as he continued to lose his partners at the other end.
Rohit Sharma steered the Indian innings after the early dismissals of Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli to take the side to a dominant position at the end of day 1. He built a solid partnership alongside fellow Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who also went on to score a century on the second day.
Throughout his innings, Rohit Sharma also achieved numerous feats. The Indian opening batsman surpassed Mohammad Azharuddin to score the most number of runs by an Indian batsman in a Test series against South Africa. He also touched the 500-run mark in the series earlier today.
Rohit Sharma's six-hitting prowess is second-to-none, and he surpassed West Indies' Shimron Hetmyer (15) to hit the most number of sixes in a Test series. He is also currently the top six-hitter in the World Test Championship, going past England's Ben Stokes.
When the 32-year-old batsman reached the 150-run mark in the first session of Day 2, he also became the first opener to score two 150+ scores against South Africa in a Test series, and eighth overall. He is the first Indian batsman to reach the feat.
The decision to experiment Rohit Sharma for the opening role was made after Hanuma Vihari's exceptional performances at number 6 closed the doors for his comeback in the middle-order. The Mumbai batsman made an electrifying start to his 'second innings' in Test cricket as an opener, as he scored a century in both the innings of the first Test.
