5 records Rohit Sharma smashed in 2017

Rohit Sharma is one of the most elegant batsmen in limited overs cricket. He has already proved his batting abilities by scoring three double centuries in ODIs. He simply blows away the opposition on his day, not sparing even the best of the bowlers. However long the boundary may be, he does not think twice about hitting a six on a loose delivery. Rohit's massive sixes are a delight to watch.

Having won 3 IPL titles, he is also a great captain. His captaincy was put to the test again in the recently concluded T20 series against Sri Lanka where he led the Indian cricket team to a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka.

2017 turned out to be an outstanding year for Rohit, who smashed a number of records. Here are some of the greatest records he broke this year.

#1 Fastest T20 international century (35 balls)

Rohit Sharma equaled the record for the fastest T20 international century, scoring the ton in just 35 balls. In his whirlwind innings of 118 runs of 43 balls in the 2nd T20 against Sri Lanka played at the Holkar stadium in Indore, Rohit broke a plethora of records.

His score of 118 is also the highest by any Indian in T20Is. He also became the fifth player to score two centuries, the most in T20 Internationals. Chris Gayle, Colin Munro, Evin Lewis, and Brendon McCullum are the other four batsmen to score two centuries each.

Earlier this year, South African batsman David Miller had scored a century in 35 balls playing against Bangladesh at home. Rohit leveled the record, scoring the ton in an equal number of balls.

#2 Most international sixes in a calendar year (65 sixes)

Rohit Sharma has become one of the clean hitters of the ball, smacking even the best of bowlers for long sixes. He finished 2017 hitting 65 international centuries, the most by any player in international cricket in a single year. In ODIs, he accumulated 46 sixes in 21 matches, in T20 internationals he collected 16 sixes in 9 matches and in Tests he hit 3.

Rohit Sharma ended the year on a high, winning the T20 series against Sri Lanka as a captain. In the 2nd T20 played at Indore, he smashed this record, crossing 63 international centuries in a calendar year. The record was previously held by AB de Villiers, who had hit 63 sixes in 2015 playing for South Africa.

#3 Most double hundreds in ODIs (3)

Rohit Sharma raises his bat after scoring his third double hundred

Playing against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Rohit created one of the greatest records scoring another double hundred, which is the 3rd of his ODI career. This is the most number of double-tons scored by any batsman in ODI cricket. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill have scored one double hundred each.

In 2013 Rohit scored his first double hundred against Australia in Bangalore. In the following year, he scored another double hundred playing against Sri Lanka in Kolkata. Scoring a monstrous 264 from 173 balls, Rohit became the first player to cross 250 runs in ODIs and his score of 264 is still the highest individual score in ODIs.

His 3rd double ton came in 2017 playing at Mohali where he played an unbeaten knock of 208 in 153 balls. It doesn't look like this record is going to be broken anytime soon.

#4 Most IPL trophies as captain (3)

Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma and Shane Bond with the three IPL trophies

2017 turned out to be another successful year for the Mumbai Indians franchise. After appointing Rohit Sharma as the captain in 2013, the team's fate changed dramatically and Mumbai Indians won 3 IPL titles in 5 years, in 2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively.

This is the most number of IPL wins by any team in the league. Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have two IPL wins each. Sharma became the first captain to win it on 3 occasions when Mumbai Indians won the 2017 edition of the league, beating Rising Pune Supergiants by 1 run in the final.

MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir have led their respective teams to two title wins.

Rohit also has the second highest winning percentage in the IPL as a captain among players who have captained in more than 50 IPL matches. In the 66 matches that he has captained, he has won 40 and lost 26 with a winning percentage of 60.60. This is slightly less than Sachin Tendulkar, who has a winning percentage of 60.78 captaining in 51 IPL matches.

#5 Most scores of 150 or more in ODIs (5)

Rohit Sharma raises his bat after scoring a century in Australia

With his knock of 208 in Mohali, Rohit also became the 3rd player to score the most number of 150s in ODI cricket drawing level with Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar was the only player to have scored most number of 150s in ODIs having scored 5.

Earlier in January this year, David Warner scored 179 against Pakistan equalling Sachin's record. Later, Rohit equaled the record after scoring his 3rd double hundred in ODIs this year. West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya come 2nd on the list with four 150+ scores each.

Rohit Sharma's scores of 150 or more in ODIs have each came in five consecutive years. His 150+ scores are 209 v Australia in 2013, 264 v Sri Lanka in 2014, 150 v South Africa in 2015, 171 v Australia in 2016 and 208 v Sri Lanka in 2017. Interestingly, India has lost on both the occasions when he has not been able to convert his 150 into 200.