The Indian opener, Rohit Sharma went on to amass his sixth Test century in the ongoing third Test against South Africa JSCA Stadium in Ranchi on Saturday. Rohit reached the magical three-figure mark by smashing Dane Piedt for a maximum over long-off.
In the process, Sharma became only the second Indian opener after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar to hit three or more hundreds in one Test series. Rohit scored 13 fours and hit four maximums en route to his century as he was cautious at the start as India lost three quick wickets but despite losing wickets at the other end, Rohit sent the bad deliveries to the fence.
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Sharma also put the 150-plus stand for the fourth wicket with Ajinkya Rahane. The latter also played a crucial role in the partnership as he brought up his 21st 50-plus score in Test cricket. Earlier in the game, India won the toss and opted to bat. Kagiso Rabada removed Mayank Agarwal for 10 and he followed up the good start by removing Cheteshwar Pujara for a duck.
The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 254 in Pune, was trapped in front of the stumps by Anrich Nortje, who got his maiden Test scalp as the Indian skipper was dismissed for 12.
Rahane, India’s vice-captain, joined Rohit in the middle and steadied the ship for the hosts. This was Rohit’s third 100-plus score in the series. The right-hander with his 16th six also went past Shimron Hetmyer to become the player with the most number of sixes in a Test series.
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Harbhajan Singh had held the record for India previously with 14 sixes against New Zealand in 2010. Sharma scored a century in both innings in his first outing as an opener for India in the longest format. He failed to do the same in Pune where Kohli grabbed the headlines. Currently, India is having an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The play for Day 1 was called off at the score of 224/3 in 58 overs due to bad light which was followed by some rain.
