India vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma nine runs away from breaking Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year old record

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The action now shifts to Cuttack where the decider will be played between India and West Indies. It has been a high-scoring affair so far and with the win in Vizag, Team India will be full of confidence to seal the series. The foundation of the win was laid by the openers as they added 200 runs for the first wicket and this powered India to a massive total.

Rohit Sharma has been a man in form in 2019 and in his final match this year, he is on the cusp of registering a massive record. The Indian opener needs just nine runs to go past former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and become the highest run-scorer as an opener across all the three formats.

Rohit has so far scored 2,379 runs as an opener in 2019 and is chasing Sanath Jayasuriya’s tally of 2,387 runs which he notched up in 1997.

He was declared man of the match for his stellar 159 runs in Vishakhapatnam.

“It was a much-needed win, after losing in Chennai. Wanted to get our act together. Started very well, was a crucial partnership upfront, KL batted well, allowed me to take my time. A great batting performance backed up by a good bowling performance. KL is such a talent when you watch him from the opposite end. Running between the wickets wasn’t upto the mark between both of us, but we’ll get used to it soon. We can take a lot of confidence from how we created that partnership,” he said after the match.

He was ably supported by KL Rahul who too notched up his own century.

“Very happy. Been playing well for the lst couple of months. Went back and played first class cricket got runs behind him and so very happy I could continue in that same form,” Rahul says. “I got the opportunity to bat up the order in a place where I’m comfortable. It’s where I feel I can play my best. Just wanted to make it count. I’m very clear about what I have to do, what role I play and I just want to do my best. [Celebration putting hands in your ear?] I’ll let it stay a mystery. Initially we gave ourselves time, three four overs, then we figured out what a good total was and we paced it that way. It’s not always that both of us get going from ball one. Today was my day, fortunately it came off today. All these conversations are mostly tactical, who’s feeling good, who’s comfortable against which bowler. That sort of stuff.”