#OTD in 2019: Rohit Sharma became the first player to score five centuries in a single edition of ODI WC

On this day in 2019, the Indian opener Rohit Sharma hit the fifth century of the ODI World Cup in a fixture against Sri Lanka. In this pursuit, he became the first batter to score five centuries in a single edition of the 50-overs ICC event. 

Ahead of this fixture, India faced Bangladesh, won by 18 runs, and sealed the semi-final spots. On the other hand, Sri Lanka were already out of contention for the top four places in the points table. 

The Dimuth Karunaratne-led side won the toss and opted to bat first at Leeds. However, they had a bad start with the top-order batters failing to provide substantial contributions. 

However, the resolve displayed by the pair of Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne steered the team to a respectable position. 

Mathews returned with a knock of 113, and Thirimanne scored 53, while Dhananjaya de Silva (29*) provided good support to pave the way for Sri Lanka to post 264 on the board. 

In reply, the Indian openers Sharma and KL Rahul provided a solid start to the team and piled up boundaries in a consistent manner. 

In the form of his life, the Nagpur-born batter displayed glorious cover drives and on-drives. Sharma completed his fifty off 48 balls with a lofted shot, which went for a maximum over the extra-cover area. A couple of balls later, he attacked Silva and hit a six over the straight boundary. 

Sharma reached his century off 92 balls with a hook shot to hit a four over the deep mid-wicket area. However, he soon perished for a well-made 103 with 14 fours and two sixes. But the 35-year-old had already ensured a victory for the Indian team. 

Rahul was dismissed for 111 off 118 balls. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 34 off 41 balls to chase the target under 44 overs and cement the top spot in the points table. 

After this fixture, India lost to New Zealand by 18 runs in the semi-finals.