Rohit Sharma put on an exhibition with the bat in India’s World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday (October 11).
Chasing 273 to win, Rohit slammed 131 off 84 balls to script India’s eight-wicket victory with 15 overs to spare. His brutal knock was studded with 16 fours and 5 sixes.
With this innings, Rohit became the highest century maker in World Cup with 7 tons to his name. Before this game, he was sharing this record with the great Sachin Tendulkar.
During his whirlwind display, the Indian skipper also surpassed Chris Gayle’s tally to become the most six hitter in international cricket. Sharma now has 556 sixes across formats as compared to Gayle's 553.
The fact that Rohit Sharma’s carnage came just before the India versus Pakistan clash is what has left the former Pakistan cricketers nervous.
Speaking on A Sports, pace-bowling legend Wasim Akram said Rohit appears to be a different "beast" altogether.
"Rohit Sharma looked so beautiful. He played proper shots and took no risks at all. He had a lot more time than the other batters. Kohli scored a fifty, it was a good knock, he was in control but Rohit was a different beast altogether," Akram stated.
Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was also part of the panel, said the bowlers would not know where to bowl to Rohit when he is in that sort of form.
"Ye sab dekhne k baad mujhe lagta hai baki sare teams pe bohut pressure hoga. Ball karna kaha pe hai? (There will be a lot of pressure on every team now after watching Rohit bat like this. Where do you bowl to him?) If you bowl outside the off stump, he hits hit for boundary, if you go straight, he lifts you over your head, if you drop it short, he pulls you for a six over square leg or fine leg. The way he is batting let alone the margin of error, they will have no clue where to bowl," Misbah said.
Akram quickly added, "Bachna kaise hai? (How do you survive this onslaught?) It'll be very difficult for the Pakistan bowlers."
Ex-Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan said Shaheen Afridi will have to be at his best to get rid of Rohit early.
"He has to be dismissed early, maybe if Shaheen lands a yorker or someone bowls a very good bouncer. Otherwise, it seems very difficult to get him out."
Wasim Akram also hailed the Indian captain for his remarkable conversation rate in World Cups.
"Look at his record. He has got 7 World Cup hundreds in just 19 innings. The great Sachin Tendulkar scored 6 in 44 innings. Sangakkara had five in 35 innings and Ponting scored 5 centuries in 42 innings. So to get 7 centuries so quickly in World Cups is phenomenal."
The highly-anticipated India versus Pakistan clash is slated to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Saturday (October 14).
