Stats: Rohit 4th batter to score hundreds in all three formats as captain
He carried his momentum on the second morning as well but dismissals at the other end at regular intervals, urged him to check on his aggression. He eventually reached the three-figure mark on his 171st delivery, with a lofted shot over mid-off against Todd Murphy.
Much like the Chennai Test two years, India captain Rohit Sharma has been India's lone warrior in the opening Test match against Australia of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur. While the next best has been a knock of 23, from nightwatchman R Ashwin, Rohit has been a standout batter for India, reaching his ninth Test century, off 171 deliveries on the second afternoon of the match and with that scripted a marvellous piece of history for India.
Rohit had started off on a fluent note after India folded Australia for just 177 on Day 1. His knock of 56 at the close of the opening day, reduced India's deficit to 100. He carried his momentum on the second morning as well but dismissals at the other end at regular intervals, urged him to check on his aggression. He eventually reached the three-figure mark on his 171st delivery, with a lofted shot over mid-off against Todd Murphy.
This was his ninth Test century and eighth at home and first as a captain since he took over the responsibility from Virat Kohli last year. With that, he joined Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis and Tillakaratne Dilshan to become the fourth batter to score centuries across formats as a captain.
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The 35-year-old has scored six centuries across formats as captain of the Indian team. Three of them have been in ODIs while two in T20Is, where he remains the only ever Indian to achieve this feat. This was also his 38th century across formats as an opener, which remains the second-best tally after Sachin Tendulkar's 45. Six of them have come in Test cricket, which is now eighth best among Indians.
