While India are girding up their lions for another English assignment in three-match ODI series which is beginning from July 12 (Tuesday), skipper Rohit Sharma is on some other mission as he is chasing a world record ahead of the series opener.
Looks like Rohit's willow shares a special affinity with the English bowlers as the flamboyant batter has a superb record against England. His last two hundreds across formats also came against England, one in Chennai and the other at the Oval.
Rohit led India to an emphatic series win against England in the recently concluded three-match T20I series before heading into the ODI assignment.
However, Rohit hasn't smashed a century in close to a year now in any format, will be desperate to score a big one in his favourite white-ball format. The 35-year-old will also have a chance to script a world record in ODIs. If the India skipper manages to crack a century in any of the three ODIs, he will break the world record for most centuries in an away country.
India's star opener is currently tied with South Africa's great AB de Villiers, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan legend Saeed Anwar with seven centuries.
While Rohit has 7 tons in England, de Villiers has the same in India and Tendulkar and Anwar the same in UAE.
Most ODI hundreds in an away country
7: AB de Villiers in IND
7: Rohit Sharma in ENG*
7: Sachin Tendulkar in UAE
7: Saeed Anwar in UAE
Rohit is also third in the list of highest average in an away country with a minimum of thousand runs. The India opener averages 66.8 in England and is followed by de Villiers (70.3 in India) and Kane Williamson (69.6 in England).
Highest ODI Average in an Away country (min. 1000 runs)
70.3: AB de Villiers in IND
69.6: Kane Williamson in ENG
66.8: Rohit Sharma in ENG*
64.7: Shikhar Dhawan in ENG*
Rohit, who had scored five hundreds in the 2019 ODI World Cup - the most by any player in a single edition of the fifty-overs World Cup - will also be reunited with his long-time friend and opening partner Shikhar Dhawan. Together, Rohit and Dhawan have been one of the most formidable opening pairs in the world in ODIs. They are only six runs away from being only the second Indian opening pair after Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to score 5000 ODI runs.
