Rohit Sharma: 264 ODI World Record, Three Double Centuries — India's ODI Opening Maestro

Rohit Gurunath Sharma was born on 30 April 1987 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. He made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007 and became India's primary ODI opener in 2013 — a positional move that transformed his career. Before opening, he had averaged in the mid-30s across 150+ ODI innings from the middle order. Since opening, he has averaged above 55. He has 29 ODI centuries at an average of 48.96 across 264 ODIs, and 3,677 runs at 46.52 across 67 Tests. His defining statistical contributions are in ODI cricket, where his three double centuries are unique in the format's history.

264: The World Record ODI Innings

On 13 November 2014, in the fourth ODI between India and Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Rohit Sharma scored 264 from 173 balls — the highest individual score in ODI cricket history, surpassing Martin Guptill's 237 scored the previous year (Guptill actually scored his 237 later, in March 2015 — Rohit's 264 is the all-time record). He hit 33 fours and 9 sixes. India scored 404/5 and won by 153 runs. Rohit had already scored 209 against Australia a year earlier (2 November 2013 at Bangalore) — making him the first batsman to score two ODI double centuries in 12 months. His 264 was unbeaten — he was dismissed from the last ball of the innings after being given a 'retired out' opportunity but choosing to keep batting.

Three ODI Double Centuries: Unique in History

Rohit Sharma is the only batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score three double centuries in the format: 209 vs Australia (Bangalore, 2 Nov 2013), 264 vs Sri Lanka (Kolkata, 13 Nov 2014), and 208* vs Sri Lanka (Mohali, 13 Dec 2017). No other batsman has scored more than one ODI double century. The three double centuries across four years represent a unique consistency at an exceptional level: scoring above 200 in an ODI requires a perfect combination of individual form, a chasing/first-batting opportunity that extends to the 50th over, a batting-friendly surface, and a bowling attack susceptible to such scoring. Rohit has consistently found the conditions and made the most of them.

Five Centuries at the 2019 World Cup and Captaincy

At the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Rohit Sharma scored five centuries in a single tournament — the first batsman in World Cup history to achieve this. He scored 122 vs South Africa, 140 vs Pakistan, 102 vs England, 104 vs Bangladesh, and 67 in a semi-final. He scored 648 runs at 81.00 in the tournament. Despite his individual excellence, India lost the semi-final to New Zealand. He captained India in ODIs from 2022 and led India to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final — where India defeated Australia by 6 wickets in Ahmedabad. He also captained India to the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup title, defeating South Africa in the final in Barbados by 7 runs.