5 records broken by Rohit Sharma in 2018

It was a memorable 2018 for Rohit Sharma in limited overs cricket. He finished second among the leading run scorers in ODIs in 2018. His compatriot Virat Kohli topped the list and both of them finished in similar positions in 2017 as well.

Even in T20I cricket, Rohit finished in second place and smashed two centuries, while his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan led the T20I run chart for 2018. He scored 590 runs in T20I and 1030 runs in ODIs as the Indian openers smashed 7 centuries overall in limited overs cricket with two of them coming in T20I.

Not only as a batsman, but also as an ODI and T20I captain, Rohit Sharma, tasted a lot of success last year. He was appointed the Indian ODI captain for the Asia cup in the absence of Virat Kohli, and India didn't lose a match under his captaincy. Rohit was the captain for almost all the T20I series for India during the year 2018. He managed to win 8 games out of 9 that he captained, his only loss came against Sri Lanka in February.

In the memorable run of form he enjoyed in 2018, he broke a few notable records as well:

#1 Most T20I centuries

Rohit had a phenomenal year both as a batsman and as a leader. He scored two centuries in 2018 in T20s. The first one came against England at Bristol where England scored 198 runs batting first in the 3rd match of the series. Chasing a target of 199, India lost both Dhawan and Rahul early, but Rohit, along with Kohli, ensured India chased down the total in 18.4 overs. This was Rohit's third T20I century and he equalled Colin Munro's record.

A few months later, Rohit smashed one more T20I century in the home series against the Windies. Rohit lost the toss and the visitors asked India to bat first. The openers shared a century stand and Rohit Sharma became the first cricketer to smash four centuries in T20I history.

Rohit Sharma ended the year with three 90+ scores in T20I cricket. He missed the century against Ireland by three runs otherwise he would have ended the year with three centuries.

#2 Fastest to 200 ODI sixes

Rohit Sharma smashed his 200th ODI six during the home series vs Windies

Rohit Sharma is fondly called as "Hitman" by his fans for his incredible hitting. When he is in flow, no ground is big enough to stop him.

He smashed 39 sixes in ODIs in 2018, which was easily the most by anyone. Bairstow took the second place with 31 sixes as Rohit became only the second Indian after MS Dhoni to smash 200 sixes in ODIs.

Currently he has 202 sixes, 16 behind Dhoni, who holds the Indian record. When he reached 200 sixes, he became the fastest to that landmark. The dashing opener broke Shahid Afridi’s all time record by reaching the landmark in 187 innings, whereas Afridi got to the mark in 195 innings. Rohit also climbed to 6th place in the all time six-hitter's list.

Fastest to 200 ODI Sixes:

187 innings - Rohit Sharma

195 innings - Shahid Afridi

214 innings - AB De Villiers

228 innings - Brendon Mccullum

241 innings - Chris Gayle

#3 Most 150+ scores in ODIs

Rohit Sharma and his love for daddy hundreds

Rohit Sharma is one of the few cricketers who converts his hundreds to daddy hundreds with utmost ease. Unlike other cricketers, he always takes time to construct his innings and then goes berserk during the final overs, which is why he has three double centuries to his name in ODIs.

Rohit has the game to make up for the balls that he consumes in the initial part of an innings, which is why everyone calls him as a gifted cricketer.

He scored four ODI centuries last year, in which he twice crossed the 150-run mark. His first 150+ score came against West Indies at Guwahati, which helped India chase down 322, where he went on to became the first cricketer to hit 6 150+ scores in ODI cricket.

In the 4th ODI of the same series, Sharma smashed yet another 150+ score and ended the innings with 162, missing a golden opportunity to score yet another double century in ODI cricket. This was also the highest score smashed by an Indian in ODIs in 2018 as he extended the record to seven 150+ scores.

Most 150+ scores in ODIs:

7 - Rohit Sharma

5 - Sachin Tendulkar

5 - David Warner

#4 Most international sixes in a calendar year

Rohit Sharma is the second highest six-hitter for India in ODIs

We have already discussed Rohit's six hitting abilities earlier. He makes it look incredibly easy and it is one of the reasons for his success in ODI cricket since 2013.

He has smashed 139 sixes in just the last two years in International cricket. Most players don't even reach this number even in their entire career. He was one of the key reasons why India started posting huge totals in ODIs and T20Is, and chased a few improbable targets.

Rohit broke AB De Villiers' record for most sixes in a year during the 2017 season. He smashed 65 sixes while De Villiers had smashed 63 sixes in 2015.

In 2018, though, Rohit became even better in terms of hitting as he ended the year with a whopping 74 sixes and thus broke his own record, and with his form, he might break this record in 2019, as the Indians are set to play a lot of limited overs cricket.

#5 First Indian to outscore the opposing team twice in ODIs

Rohit Sharma's 264 vs Sri Lanka is highest by anyone in ODI history

Not very often one sees a batsman outscoring the opposing team in ODI cricket. Rohit Sharma has done this twice in his career and thus became the first Indian to achieve this mark twice in ODI history.

First such instance came when he recorded the highest ever individual score in ODI history. He smashed 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014 and on the other hand, the visitors got bowled out for 251.

Second instance happened against West Indies in 2018. Rohit smashed 162 runs after India won the toss and elected to bat first. He helped his team in posting a mammoth total of 377 and in chasing the daunting total, the visitors kept losing wickets, and were eventually bowled out for 153, failing to cross Rohit's score by 9 runs.