Rohit Sharma's hundred in SMAT (Source: @rushiii_12/x.com)
Those who say nothing is more beautiful than poetry must not have seen Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket. The Pull Shot? He makes it look like a gentle nudge over deep square leg. The Lofted Drive? just like if Grace could smash the ball clean out of the park.
The world remained amazed by Hitman’s mastery in the T20s on the big stage, but Mumbai saw the first spark of him. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, young Rohit Sharma stunned the world with his heroics.
With countless memorable moments in the domestic 20-over tournament, Hitman delivered countless masterclasses, but the iconic 45-ball hundred is still a classic. Let’s dive back into that record-breaking masterclass that left fans in awe.
Rohit turns every ball into magic with a fiery hundred
Every time Rohit Sharma walks into the field, he carries 1.4 billion of hope on his shoulder. His mastery across the formats can’t be described in words, but his expertise in the white-ball formats stands apart. Though he has hung up his boots from the T20Is, fans can’t get over his heroics in the shortest format.
Though the world saw him dominating the opponent bowlers on the world stage, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy holds some of his explosive knocks in the domestic stage, just as his 45-ball hundred in 2007. On that day, young Rohit Sharma announced his arrival in the shortest format.
Facing Gujarat in the group stage, Hitman unleashed his beast mode. While batting first, Gujarat put on a total of 141 runs, and Mumbai arrived to bat in the second innings. Coming to open the innings, Ajinkya Rahane and Robin Morris departed early, leaving Mumbai 9/2.
When the team was smelling danger, Hitman arrived with his most trusted weapon, and fans witnessed an explosion on the field. Dominating the opposition bowlers with excellence, Rohit rained boundaries and over-boundaries all over the ground. After a fiery fifty, the destruction went even harder.
Gujarat threw everything at the Hitman, but he answered with a jaw-dropping 45-ball century that left their attack helpless. In the unbeaten 101-run knock, he smashed 13 boundaries and five over-boundaries. With that rampage, Mumbai chased down the total with 15 balls in spare.
18 years passed from that 45-ball century to 2025, and Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma turned into the Hitman. Chapters turned, but this knock has remained classic. As per reports, he is set to represent Mumbai once again in SMAT. Fans are set to experience the Hitman’s rage from where it all began.
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