Twitter erupts as Rohit Sharma hit his first century in South Africa

Rohit Sharma is one of the most gifted players among all in international cricket and possesses immense talent. He had a wonderful 2017 and was almost at par with Virat Kohli in ODIs. On the back of a few terrific performances, Rohit was expected to do well in South Africa. Everyone believed that 2018 will be Rohit’s year given his form and consistency across formats in 2017.

However, that hasn’t been the case for him thus far. He had a miserable run in the Tests leading to heavy criticism which also saw him being dropped from the final Test. But, he was expected to perform much better in ODIs as he likes the limited-over format. That wasn’t the case either and he ended up with pathetic scores in the first four ODIs.

Rohit finally amongst the runs

Rohit only managed to score 20, 15, 0, 5 in the first four ODIs averaging just 10 in these games. His overall average in South Africa is just a touch above 11 adding to his woes. He was under some tight scrutiny and pressure ahead of the fifth ODI. However, Rohit proved all his critics wrong with an unbelievable century.

He started off very patiently and smashed two big sixes early on in his innings to ease the nerves. He was extremely wary of the incoming deliveries and handled them very well. His cautious yet aggressive approach in the game impressed everyone. Although he was involved in two run-outs including that of skipper Virat Kohli, he kept his calm and powered his way through the innings.

Rohit would have had his heart in his mouth when he hit a delivery up in the air on 96. However, luck favoured him and he was dropped by Shamsi in the third man region and approached his innings furthermore cautiously then on. There was a sigh of relief and joy on his face as soon as he got to the three-figure mark, his first ever in South Africa. He didn’t celebrate big as he clearly has his eyes set on something bigger.

Twitterati was impressed with Rohit’s 17th ODI century and fans will want him to carry on and hit yet another double century. They will hope this innings will break the shackles for the opener and will carry on from here on the tour.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Rohit’s brilliant century: