Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli added another milestone to their legendary partnership on Sunday, becoming the pair with the second-most century stands in ODI history during India’s chase against England in the third and final ODI at Lord’s.Most 100+ partnerships in ODIs26 Tendulkar – Ganguly21 Rohit – Kohli *20 Dilshan – Sangakkara18 Rohit – Shikhar16 Gilchrist – Hayden The experienced duo stitched together a 113-run stand for the second wicket off just 86 balls, taking their tally of 100-plus partnerships in ODIs to 21. They moved past Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had 20 century stands together, leaving only the iconic Indian pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly ahead with 26. The record-breaking partnership came in their landmark 400th international match together, making Rohit and Kohli the first Indian pair to feature alongside each other in 400 international matches. While Kohli played the supporting role, Rohit led India’s reply with a magnificent 138, an innings that rewrote multiple records. The veteran opener became the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s and, at 39 years and 80 days, the oldest Indian to score an ODI hundred as well as the oldest Indian to register an international century across all formats.Involved in most 100+ partnerships in ODIs99 S Tendulkar87 V Kohli *73 Rohit Sharma *72 R Ponting67 K Sangakkara Their latest stand also strengthened their individual records among the most prolific partnership batters in ODI history. Kohli now has 87 century partnerships in the format, second only to Sachin Tendulkar’s 99, while Rohit moved to 73, overtaking Ricky Ponting’s tally of 72. Rohit’s memorable innings eventually ended on 138 when Jacob Bethell bowled him, bringing to a close a knock that kept India’s chase alive after England had set a daunting target of 388. Earlier, England posted 387 for 3, the highest ODI total at Lord’s. Ben Duckett laid the foundation with a superb 141, while Jacob Bethell struck 91 during a 192-run opening partnership. Joe Root then continued his exceptional form with an unbeaten 74 before Jos Buttler’s explosive 41 not out from just 13 balls powered England to a formidable total. Despite the pressure of a massive chase, Rohit and Kohli once again showcased the chemistry that has defined India’s ODI batting for more than a decade, adding yet another historic chapter to one of the format’s greatest partnerships.
