'45 Special': Gayle takes lead in congratulating Rohit who eclipsed his record

The cherished feat came as the right-handed batter smashed five sixes during his ton. Rohit Sharma, who has 555 under his belt eclipsed Chris Gayle, who had hit 553 sixes.

Hyderabad: 'Hitman' Rohit Sharma was at his swashbuckling best when he surpassed Chris Gayle in hitting maximum number of sixes in international matches during India's game against Afghanistan in the ongoing Cricket World Cup played on Wednesday.

The cherished feat came as the right-handed batter smashed five sixes during his ton. Sharma, who has 555 under his belt eclipsed Gayle, who had hit 553 sixes.

The feisty West Indian great was among the first to congratulate Rohit for the record. He captioned the post on X (formerly Twitter) while tagging Sharma:

"Congrats, Most Sixes in International cricket. #45 Special."

Several former India cricketers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and lauded Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma for his stupendous effort. Former India opener Virender Sehwag wrote, "Joy to watch these 2. Virat is in ominous form, whether 2/3 or 150/1, he is always standing tall, and am sure this is going to be a memorable World Cup for him. Rohit in full flow is always a delight to watch. Rohit Virat Bumrah, 3 of the most experienced guys having a v good game and a great win for us #WorldCup2023 (sic)"

Former India player Suresh Raina hailed Sharma for his consistency. "What a spectacular moment to witness! @ImRo45, you've done it again with a brilliant century 🙌🏻, and the partnership with @ishankishan51 is pure magic.

🔥Keep making us proud, boys! #INDvsAFG #ODIWorldCup2023," Raina, former left-handed batter, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rohit's long time opening partner in 50-over format Shikhar Dhawan, India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal among others too lauded the Mumbaikar for his blistering knock. Rohit's teammate and pacer Mohammed Siraj described his skipper as a classy batter.

"A classy batter! Congratulations Rohit bhai on scoring the most hundreds in the ODI World Cup. ⁦@ImRo45⁩," Siraj said on X.

Rohit now has the most centuries in the World Cup as he surpassed batting great Sachin Tendulkar. The Hitman also has the most sixes in international cricket and became the joint fastest to score 1000 World Cup run. It was raining boundaries and sixes at the 'Kotla' in New Delhi on Wednesday as it was a Rohit Sharma show at the venue. Rohit and his team will now head to Ahmedabad where they will face arch-rivals Pakistan on October 14.