Rohit Sharma rewrites record books with whirlwind century against Afghanistan, smashes string of records

Rohit Sharma had endured the toughest possible outings with the bat in the first two matches of the series against Afghanistan. In Mohali, he was out for a duck after a terrible mix-up with Shubman Gill, whereas in Indore, Fazalhaq Farooqui sent him packing first ball. Justifiably, all eyes were on the Indian captain after he opted to bat in the final T20I at Bengaluru, deviating from his decision to bowl first in the previous two games. And what a decision it turned out to be. Not only did Rohit shrug the monkey off his back, but also entered into the record books, smashing a whirlwind century off just 64 balls. In the process, Rohit went past his India and Mumbai Indians teammate Suryakumar Yadav and Australia's Glenn Maxwell, who have four centuries each.

It wasn't an ideal situation for Rohit to begin with. India endured their worst Powerplay outing of the series as the side lost four wickets – including star batter Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson for a duck. However, Rohit showed great resilience as he took on the challenge, steering the innings alongside Rinku Singh (69*), who also showed his range outside of being a finisher.

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Following a series of early setbacks, Rohit aimed to take it slow while Rinku, a naturally gifted striker, took care of the boundaries regularly. The two began to soak pressure, mounting some of it back on Afghanistan. Rohit wasn’t fluent but batted with grit to bring up his fifty off 41 balls. However, after switching gears effectively, Rohit's next fifty came off just 22 deliveries. By the time he finished unbeaten on 121 off 69 balls, Rohit had smashed 11 fours and eight sixes, while boasting a terrific strike rate of 175.36.

Rohit scripted history with most centuries in the shortest format with this innings. Here's the updated list for most centuries in T20Is:

- Rohit Sharma (India) - 5

- Suryakumar Yadav (India) - 4

- Glenn Maxwell (India) - 4

Rohit also went past former England captain Eoin Morgan to smash the most sixes by a skipper in T20Is. The Indian opener now has 87 sixes in T20Is, while Morgan ended his career with 86.

In another notable feat, Rohit owned the record for most runs by an Indian captain in T20Is. He went past former captain Virat Kohli (1570) on this list and now stands at 1647 runs.

- Rohit Sharma - 1647 runs

- Virat Kohli - 1570 runs

- MS Dhoni - 1112 runs

Rohit remained unbeaten on 121, which is also the fourth-highest by an Indian in a single T20I innings.