New Delhi: India skipper Rohit Sharma surpassed swashbuckling West Indian Chris Gayle's record for hitting most sixes in international cricket. The India captain, who hails from Mumbai, said that he has taken some inspiration from the 'Universe Bose' as Gayle is fondly called in his cricketing journey. Rohit Sharma achieved the feat in India's eight-wicket win over Afghanistan on Wednesday at the 'Kotla' here. The 'Hitman' blazed his way to 131 off just 81 balls as he pummelled the listless West Indies attack to submission.
During his 131 against Afghanistan, Rohit hammered five sixes to reach 556 maximums across three formats -T20s, ODIs and Tests, three more than the swashbuckling West Indian left-hander. Rohit reached the landmark in 453 matches, precisely 30 games less than Gayle. "Universe Boss (Chris Gayle) is Universe Boss. I have taken a leaf out of his book. Over the years, we have seen him, such a six-hitting machine he is wherever he plays. We wear the same jersey (No. 45). I am sure he is happy about it because jersey No. 45 has done it (breaking his record)," said Rohit Sharma in a video posted by the BCCI.
Rohit, who was coached by Dinesh Lad, said a lot of work has gone into developing his six-hitting skills over the years. "When I started playing this game, I never thought I would be able to hit sixes, leave alone that many sixes. Obviously, a lot of work has been put into it over the years. So, I am quite happy with the work that I have done."
"I am the sort of person who is not satisfied (with what he has been doing), and I want to continue what I am doing. My focus is on that. Yeah, it is a small happy moment for me," said the right-handed flamboyant opener, who is known for his pull-shot. Meanwhile, the 36-year-old patted his bowlers for restricting Afghanistan to a below-par total on a surface which suited batsmen.
"For us, the focus is on those small things which is to look into the opposition that we play. Today was Afghanistan, and to play well here... we understood the conditions and played well. I thought we played a brilliant game. The bowlers did an exceptional job to restrict Afghanistan to below 280 because the wicket was really good to bat on," added Rohit.
The Indian skipper urged the team to focus on the job at hand rather than thinking about the knockout stages. "It is a very different format that we play now, the World Cup -- 9 league games and then the semifinals and final. For us what was important was to look at every game that came our way and not to look too far ahead," he concluded. India next takes on arch-rivals Pakistan on October 14 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
