Ro-Ko magic in IND vs SA 1st ODI: Half-centuries for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

A special Sunday for Indian cricket fans as both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma completed their half-centuries in Ranchi during the India vs South Africa 1st ODI (IND vs. SA 1st ODI) match. Through the match, Virat got his 76th ODI fifty, and Shamra registered his 60th ODI half-century. 

Virat Kohli walked into the JSCA International Stadium Complex stadium after the dismissal of one of their openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal. The right-handed batter soon found his rhythm and started to deal with copybook shots. Rohit was a little bit slow during the innings as Jaiswal faced most deliveries during the initial stage of the game. After the arrival of Virat in the middle, Rohit too started to show his true colors. With two legends on the pitch, Team India was accumulating runs flawlessly. From 25 for 1 to 162 for 2, Virat-Rohit added a 136-run second-wicket stand. 

Virat was the first to touch the half-century mark. A few minutes later, Sharma raised his bat as well, marking the accomplishment of another half-century of his ODI career. Sharma departed after scoring 57 off 51 with 5 boundaries and 3 over-boundaries, and Team India touched down at the 150-run mark. When he went back to the hunt, India had 161 runs on the scoreboard. 

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50s for both Virat kohli and Rohit Sharma

Marco Jansen dismissed the opener for an LBW. On the second delivery of the 21st over, the fast bowler, around the stumps, delivered the ball angling in a length from wider on the crease in towards the stumps. The ball came in sharply as well, and Rohit was about to play his favorite pull shot. But the ball did not get the extra bounce and kept low and hit the pad. 

During the 57-run innings, Rohit created an international record by hitting sixes. Rohit Sharma now holds the record for most sixes in ODI cricket history with 352 maximums, surpassing former Pakistan international Shahid Afridi and former West Indies batter Chris Gayle.