2019 - Rohit Sharma's annus mirabilis

There comes a time in the life of a sportsman where he can absolutely do no wrong. A time when he seems to be completely in the zone, a time when he surmounts every challenge thrown at him with ridiculous ease. It is his annus mirabilis - a Latin phrase which tranlates to 'amazing year' in English.

It is a passage of time that does not arrive often, yet when it does, it allows the sportsman to traverse peaks he would have never imagined were possible to scale. Ask Sachin Tendulkar about the year 1998, and he will tell you exactly what it is. The Master Blaster scored a record 1894 runs in that year, averaging an ethereal 65.31 in ODI cricket, smashing seven fifties and a whopping nine hundreds. It was the year when he tore into the Australian bowling attack, smashing two consecutive hundreds of splendorous beauty in the deserts of Sharjah. It was a time when everything was under his command.

Sachin Tendulkar scored a whopping 1894 runs in ODI cricket in the year 1998

Fast forward 21 years down the line. Rohit Sharma might have probably experienced a similar feeling in 2019. Let us get the numbers out of the way first. In 2019, The Hitman has scored a whopping 1490 runs in ODI cricket, including seven hundreds and six fifties, at an average of 57.31. Rohit rose to the occasion during the biggest event of the year- the 12th edition of the World Cup. He smashed five stunning hundreds during the tournament, a feat that had never been accomplished before, and probably a record that will never be replicated again.

Rohit Sharma's great run of form continues as he notches up yet another FIFTY in ODIs.Live - https://t.co/kK8v4xbyB7 #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/GLNdxFz9Hq

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 22, 2019

He also made his return to Test cricket, and made an instant mark in that format too. In the six innings that he played in Tests in 2019, Rohit scored a gargantuan 556 runs, including two hundreds in his debut Test as an opener, and followed that up with his maiden double hundred in the next Test.

In fact, this is what Rohit had to say about his incredible year.

“Extremely grateful for the year I’ve had. A World Cup victory would have been nice, but as a team, throughout the year, whether red ball or white ball cricket, we came together really well. Personally I’ve enjoyed batting, but there’s no way I’m stopping. There’s an exciting year coming up.”

Yes. This has been a splendid year for Rohit Sharma. It has been a year where he has outclassed all his peers, a year which he would look back with a great sense of fondness, and most importantly, a year that has opened up new possibilities for him.

For 2019 has indeed been his annus mirabilis.