Rohit Sharma’s Unique Formula of Scoring Daddy 100’s in ODIs

One-Day International (ODI) cricket has seen seven double hundreds so far and three of those belong to Rohit Sharma.

Quite unprecedented, isn’t it?

Well, interestingly, on all three occasions, the Mumbaikar stuck to a same template to reach the milestone — taking time initially then explore towards the end of the innings. Unlike dashers like Virender Sehwag or Chris Gayle; Rohit doesn’t go all guns blazing right from the start. He takes a lot of time to get into the grooves. At times he has been criticised for that laid-back approach in the first powerplay. But when he starts to accelerate with his lazy elegance, we know what Rohit is capable of.

His love affair with double tons started in Bengaluru against Australia in 2013. In that innings, Rohit batted for 71 balls to reach his half-century, got his hundred in 114 balls and took 42 more to reach his maiden double ton.

During his landmark knock of 264 against Sri Lanka In Kolkata back in 2014, for his first 50 runs Rohit Sharma took 72 balls then accelerated slightly in the middle to reach his century with a strike-rate of 100. In another 51 balls, Rohit reached his second double ton and scored his last 64 runs in just 23 deliveries.

And on Wednesday (January 13) on a chilly afternoon at Mohali, he trusted in the same formula, reaching first 50 off 65 balls, bringing up the hundred only in the 40th over and then went straight into the fourth gear to score his next hundred runs in just 36 balls.

His all three double tons are classic examples how a batsman should make the most out after having the measure of the conditions and the bowling attack. There is no harm in taking time initially, if one is capable of accelerating towards the end, like Rohit Sharma dose. With two new balls being used in ODI cricket these days, one believes, probably this is the ideal formula for making daddy hundreds in 50-over cricket.

"That is my style of play," Sharma was saying after the match. "You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it's all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It's all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it's impossible or difficult, but it's very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred.

"So, it was all about me not making a mistake and batting as long as possible. That's what I did. There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots."

Sharma has quite aptly described his tried and tested pattern of scoring those big hundreds, which is actually quite simple – play out the new balls and the rest of the innings will be yours’.

According to him, once he gets his eye in and reached the three-figure mark, batting gets easier. During that stage of the innings, bowlers too start to get tired and when someone is batting on a 100 plus score, the opponent is hardly left with any plan to execute against him. In these situations, you won’t get out, unless you make a mistake.

As a batsman, this is the time to cash in and Rohit Sharma does exactly that.

Remember, along with three double centuries, he also has two scores between 150 and 200 in this format.

"I am not someone like AB de Villiers, or Chris Gayle, or MS Dhoni for sure. I don't have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and I have to stick to my strength, which is to hitting through the line and playing with the field. Once you cross the three-figure mark, batting only gets easier. Unless you make a mistake, you will not get out. It can happen if you get a good ball, but eight out of 10 times you will not,” he clarified further.

This mature thinking shows how much Sharma has improved as a batsman, mentally. And as a result of this maturity, in white-ball cricket, he has been a prolific scorer of late. Unlike his older version, now Rohit doesn’t throw away goods starts, often. Instead, he looks to score as many runs as possible.

A typical “Khadoos” attitude by this Mumbaikar.