On This Day: Rohit Sharma stamped his authority in T20Is with 35-ball hundred

Former India captain Rohit Sharma being a behemoth in limited-overs cricket is a well-established fact in the world. His ODI and T20I records are second to none, and his penchant for big scores is unmatched.

Rohit is still the only batter to smash three double hundreds in ODIs, and is the joint-most century-maker in the shortest format of the game.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Rohit’s mammoth innings in T20Is are backed by his ability to hit sixes at will. He is the only batter in the world to smash more than 200 jaw-dropping sixes in the format. He retired from T20Is after leading India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, with 205 sixes in 151 innings.

Rohit and his long-time teammate and fellow run-machine Virat Kohli bid adieu to the format after the T20 World Cup triumph last year, finishing off their shortest-format careers with Rohit scoring 4231 runs from 159 matches, which included a record five hundreds and 32 fifties.On this day in 2017, eight years ago, Rohit stamped his dominance by smashing the then joint-fastest T20I century off just 35 balls, equalling South African David Miller's less-than-two-months-old record.

Rohit set the record against Sri Lanka in Indore, while Miller had achieved the feat against Bangladesh at Potchefstroom on October 29, 2017.

December 22, 2017 — The day Rohit Sharma sent Sri Lankans on a leather hunt

Rohit Sharma had a mind-boggling white-ball series against Sri Lanka at home that year. He smashed his third ODI double hundred against the visitors before the T20Is kicked off. His 208 not out in Mohali ensured he finished the three-match ODI series as the top run-getter.He started the T20I series with 17 off 13 balls in Cuttack before coming to Indore.When Sri Lanka skipper Thisara Perera won the toss and put India in to bat, little did he know what was in store.Captain Rohit Sharma and his opening partner KL Rahul punished the visitors' bowlers ruthlessly from the start. India raced to 59 for no loss after the Powerplay and did not look back.Rohit reached his half-century off 23 balls, with the help of three sixes and seven fours, and brought up a 100-run opening partnership in just 52 balls with Rahul.

After that, Rohit changed gears and left Sri Lankan players chasing leather like never before. The India skipper smoked five more sixes and four more boundaries in the next 12 balls to zoom to his record hundred in just 35 balls — joint-fastest in the world at that time.With the feat, Rohit overtook his partner Rahul's India record of a 46-ball hundred, set against the West Indies at Lauderhill on August 27, 2016.Rahul also raced to his fifty off 35 balls, hitting three sixes and four fours, as the duo added 165 runs in just 12.4 overs.

Rohit was the first to fall in the India innings after a majestic 118 off 43 balls, which included 10 sixes, 12 fours, and a mouth-watering strike rate of 274.4.India went on to post 260 for 5 in their 20 overs, with Rahul contributing 89 off 49 balls with the help of eight sixes and five fours.Under the pressure of chasing a mammoth 261, Sri Lanka lost the early wicket of opener Niroshan Dickwella (25) in the fifth over. But a 109-run second-wicket stand between Upul Tharanga (47 off 29 balls) and Kusal Perera (77 off 37 balls) kept Sri Lanka in the chase.Then India’s spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav worked their magic in the middle overs. Chahal started the collapse with the caught-and-bowled dismissal of Tharanga in the 14th over. Kuldeep then removed Perera and captain Thisara Perera in consecutive deliveries in the next over, before making it a three-wicket over by dismissing Asela Gunaratne as well.From 145/1, Sri Lanka crumbled to 161/5 in just 10 balls, and there was no fightback after that.Chahal finished with figures of 4 for 52, while Kuldeep returned 3 for 52. Both were expensive after the initial onslaught from Sri Lankan batters, but they derailed the chase with quick wickets in the middle overs as the visitors were bundled out for 172 in 17.2 overs.

Rohit Sharma's storied T20I careerThe 35-ball hundred was Rohit’s second T20I century, and he followed that up with three more hundreds in his career, including a career-best 121 not out against Afghanistan in Bengaluru (January 2024).

His other two T20I hundreds were 100 vs England in Bristol (July 2018) and 111 vs West Indies in Lucknow (November 2018).Rohit signed off from the format with the then most runs in a career — 4231 runs from 159 T20Is at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89. Meanwhile, Kohli ended his career with 4188 runs from 125 T20Is at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04, which included one century and 38 fifties.Recently, in 2025, Pakistan batter Babar Azam surpassed Rohit as the leading run-scorer in the format.