On this day: Rohit Sharma cracks 85-ball century against Pakistan in 2019 ODI World Cup

Indian cricket team went into the 2019 ODI World Cup looking to win their third title. All eyes were on the huge clash that was set to be played at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester on 16th June. India were set to take on arch rivals Pakistan in what was seen as a huge revenge game. in 2017, Pakistan under Sarfaraz Ahmad had beaten India to win the Champions Trophy title. 

Rohit Sharma in #CWC19:

💥 Nine innings
💥 648 runs
💥 Five centuries
💥 One half-century

What a phenomenal tournament it was for the birthday boy! pic.twitter.com/Em2pvOcn7Y

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) April 30, 2020

Rohit Sharma who had begun the tournament with a bang scored a memorable century against Pakistan to help India win the game by a huge margin. It was Sarfaraz Ahmed who won the toss and put India into bat. Manchester saw huge swathes of Blue and Green jerseys as the ground was jam packed. 

Shikhar Dhawan was out of the tournament after having sustained an injury to his arm in the game against Australia where he scored a ton. KL Rahul was pushed to open the batting along with Rohit Sharma for India in the key game. The two batters faced issues in the early part of the game especially during running between the wickets. 

Rohit Sharma century helps India reach massive total 

Indian cricket team began the game well scoring 50 runs from the first ten overs of the game. Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali who had done well in the 2017 CT finals were negotiated easily by the Indian openers. Rohit was at his best reaching his fifty of just 34 balls with six boundaries and two centuries. The 100 run-stand was raised in the 18th over as the openers added 136 for the first wicket before Rahul was out for 57 runs. 

Rohit didn’t stop as he slammed the Pakistani bowlers to all parts of the ground. The right-handed batter took 51 further deliveries to reach his century. By the time, Rohit was out in the 39th over for 140 runs from 113 balls with 14 boundaries and three sixes. Virat Kohli scored 77 off 65 balls as India reached 336 for five from their 50 overs. 

Pakistan lost Imam Ul Haq early for seven as he was LBW to Vijay Shankar in the fifth over. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 104 for the second wicket in 95 balls to give Pakistan hope for a massive first win over India in the ODI World Cup. Kuldeep Yadav dismissed both batters in successive overs to turn the match back into India’s favor. In the end, the Men in Blue won the game by 89 runs on the Duckworth and Lewis method.