India skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday surpassed New Zealand’s Kane Williamson to score the most World Cup runs in a single edition as captain during its CWC 2023 final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Rohit, who has been in great form with the bat during this World Cup, had scored 550 runs before this match. He went past Williamson with his 29th run to surpass his 578-run tally, which came in during the 2019 edition of the mega event.
Most Runs By A Captain In A Single World Cup Edition
Rohit Sharma – 597 runs in 2023
Kane Williamson – 578 runs in 2019
Mahela Jayawardene – 548 runs in 2007
Ricky Ponting – 539 runs in 2007
Aaron Finch – 507 runs in 2019
The 36-year-old Sharma once again gave India a blazing start, scoring 47 off 31 with four boundaries and three sixes, before getting out to Glenn Maxwell in the 10th over of the innings.
During his attacking knock, Rohit also crossed Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara in the list of most runs in ODI World Cups. The Indian skipper started the match just four short of Sangakkara’s tally of 1532 in 39 innings.
Rohit moved fourth in the overall list, with compatriots Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Ricky Ponting ahead of him.
A lot was expected from Rohit before the start of the World Cup and he lived upto the expectations, ending his campaign with bat with 597 runs in 10 matches with an average of 54.27 and strike rate of 125.94.
Meanwhile, Rohit also shattered former West Indies batter Chris Gayle’s six-hitting record in the ongoing final. He has now hit the most sixes against a single opponent in ODI cricket.
The India captain has now smashed 86 sixes against Australia in the 50-over format, surpassing Gayle’s record of 85 sixes against England.
Earlier, Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first, with both teams not making any changes in their playing XI.
Playing XIs:
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj