When Rohit Sharma Became The Joint Second Fastest T20I Centurion

image-lqgaw7kvRohit Sharma made 118 off 43 balls in Indore (Twitter)

Rohit Sharma's days under the sun in T20Is maybe nearing their end but in his prime, the veteran India opener was an unstoppable beast for opposition attacks. The devastating right-hand batter once produced what was at the time the joint fastest T20I century in the history of the game. 

On December 22, 2017, exactly six years back, the modern-day stalwart unleashed his wrath on the hapless Sri Lankans for a brutal knock of 118 off just 43 deliveries in Indore. Playing the second T20I of the series, the stand-in India captain unveiled a majestic innings, reaching the three-figure mark in a jaw-dropping 35 deliveries only. 

Relishing the flat nature of the surface at the Holkar Stadium, which is notorious for its small boundary dimensions, the great cricketer batted with absolute disdain and no respite attitude against the pacers and spinners alike. 


When Rohit Tamed The Lankan Lions 

He belted them for 12 fours and 10 maximums at the crease, playing a range of delightful strokes with minimal fuss to produce joint quickest T20I hundred at the time with South African maverick David Miller, who had made a 35-ball T20I century only two months earlier versus Bangladesh.

Since then Czech Republic batter Sudesh Wickramasekara has also made a 35-ball hundred against Turkey in 2019 while Nepal's young batter Kushal Malla surpassed the Miller-Rohit-Sudesh trio and became the fastest T20I hundred scorer against Mongolia during the Asian Games 2023 in China by reaching the mark one ball earlier. 

But Rohit's great assault against the Lankan Lions is etched in cricket lovers' memories for the sheer ease at which he produced the coveted milestone and took India to a mammoth score of 260/5 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Later, Indian bowlers crushed the visiting side under the weight of the asking rate and restricted them to 172 to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with Rohit's 118 off 43 balls earning him a much-deserved 'Player of the Match' trophy.