Records are there to be broken but I'd never have expected anyone to smash the world ODI record by such a huge margin, nor that the man to do it would be Rohit Sharma. It's not that he is a mediocre batsman; far from it. Anyone with a first-class average of almost 60, and one of the very few to have struck a double-century in a 50-over international, is a force to be reckoned with.
It wasn't always thus. Four fifties in his first 40-odd innings paints a picture of a slow burner, but after three years he finally burst into life with successive centuries in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. In 2011, he enjoyed a good run of scores against West Indies before enduring a dreadful sequence of 17 runs in six innings in Sri Lanka the following summer. With Tendulkar and the old guard out of the picture, the 2013 Champions Trophy revived Sharma as a useful opener alongside Dhawan. A few months later on home territory, a series runfest included Rohit striking 141 not out and then 209 against Australia, the latter innings including an incredible sixteen sixes.
Virat Kohli's may still be the wicket that every bowler wants. However Rohit Sharma's elevation to the stratosphere by crashing 264 off Sri Lanka, beating Virender Sehwag's previous record by the huge distance of 45, must surely boost India's confidence after some dodgy results of late. Never mind that he was dropped on four; that's part and parcel of cricket. The statistic is there for all time.
As for whether he can do it for India in the World Cup Down Under, the jury remains out. He averages only 26 on the bouncier pitches of Australia, and a mere 12 in South Africa, although his fellow 27 year-old Suresh Raina isn't much better.
So what about today's match-winning effort? Will it ever be beaten? Of course it will. Someone will probably thump a triple against Zimbabwe in he not too distant future. But is it the greatest ODI innings of all time? The most runs, yes, but on today's featherbeds and short boundaries, I'd place Kapil Dev's 1983 World Cup knock of 175 after coming in at 9 for 4 much higher. Shane Watson's blistering 185 three years ago in Dhaka was a superb show of power hitting. Then of course there's Viv Richards' then world best of 189 not out.
In a 55-over game at Old Trafford thirty years ago, the Master Blaster blasted Botham, Willis et al for an unbeaten 189 out of an innings of 272-9. Only Eldine Baptiste (batting eight) and Michael Holding (at ten) also made double figures! Just as Sharma beat Sri Lanka's total on his own, so did Viv outscore England that day. I know I'm biased but for all Sharma's additional runs, it'll take a lot to beat the King's magnificent performance of 31st May 1984.
