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OTD In 2021: Rohit Sharma's 1st Overseas Test Ton Inspired India To A Famous Win

Jatin

Rohit Sharma scored a stunning hundred [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]Rohit Sharma scored a stunning hundred [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]

On this day, four years ago, The Oval witnessed an innings that changed the course of a series. Indian opener, Rohit Sharma, who had waited years for an overseas Test hundred, finally achieved it and he did in some style.

Rohit Sharma’s 127 At The Oval Sparked A Stunning Win For India

In the fourth Test against England in 2021, with the series even at 1-1, Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion and played the innings of his life. His 127 off 256 balls silenced the doubters once and for all.

England had taken a 99-run lead in the first innings and India looked under the pump. But Rohit, calm as ever, decided to dig in. He punished the loose ones, defended with soft hands and when the time was right, unfurled those trademark pulls and drives.

Fourteen crisp boundaries and one six lit up his stay. By the time he fell to Ollie Robinson, he had set the platform for India’s 466 and eventually a famous win by 157 runs.

Milestones Galore

That knock rewrote the record books. With it, Rohit became the first opener to smash centuries in all formats in England. He also became the Indian with the most centuries in English conditions: nine in total.

He became the first Indian to bag Man of the Match awards in all formats in England and the first Asian batter with 10 centuries in SENA wins. Add to that being the second-fastest opener to 11,000 runs and the first visiting player to ton up at seven different venues in England.

If that wasn’t enough, he also became the only player to score centuries in all formats in two different countries: India and England.

India’s Historic Win

Rohit’s hundred was the cornerstone of a win that still warms Indian hearts. Shardul Thakur’s twin fifties and Jasprit Bumrah’s fiery burst in the second innings wrapped things up.

England, set 368, folded for 210 as India went 2-1 up in the series. It was one of those rare victories in English soil that fans talk about even today. And at the heart of it all was Rohit’s knock that combined class with character.

End Of An Era

Earlier this year, Rohit Sharma hung up his boots in Test cricket after 67 matches. Appointed India’s Test captain in 2022, he finished with 4301 runs at an average of 40.57, with 12 hundreds and 18 fifties.

While his career in the longest format has ended, that hundred at The Oval will always remain special. It was the day he showed the world that he wasn’t just a white-ball giant, but a red-ball warrior too.