Lords ODI: Ton-up Rohit Sharma shuts down retirement talks, for now

It remains to be seen whether Rohit Sharma's century at Lord's on Sunday proves to be his final international innings. For now, however, the Hitman has silenced retirement rumours with a knock for the ages in the series-deciding ODI against England, becoming the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at the hallowed venue.

Retirement speculation had been swirling over the past few days following an Indian Express report that the team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, held a one-on-one meeting with the former captain and informed him that he was not part of their future plans. The report claimed the team was looking beyond the 39-year-old with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, though the BCCI quickly went into damage-control mode and denied that any such conversation had taken place.

The buzz around the speculative story, attributed to BCCI sources, was that it may have been a calculated leak—ostensibly to put pressure on the only batter to have scored three ODI double centuries. It is no secret that the Gambhir-Agarkar combine was not keen on carrying the 'Big Two' into next year's showpiece in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Whatever the reason, it certainly succeeded in stoking the white-ball giant's ego as Rohit kept his date with a 34th ODI century and became the first batter to score eight ODI hundreds on Indian soil. Virat Kohli also joined the party with a counter-attacking 74 as the two masters stitched together a 113-run stand for the second wicket. However, the 388-run target proved a mountain too high to climb, allowing the visitors to dent India's reputation as a formidable white-ball side by clinching both the T20I and ODI series.

There was no extravagant celebration after Rohit reached the landmark with a slog sweep off Adil Rashid, bringing up his century in just 84 balls. He simply raised his bat, acknowledged the applause from every corner of Lord's, and took guard again with India chasing a mammoth target of 388. He later cut loose before falling for 138 — an innings that spoke volumes about his character and resolve.

Rohit's decision to focus solely on ODIs since last year, after he and Virat Kohli bid farewell to Test cricket, had left him desperately short of runs in the format. He had managed only three half-centuries since his century against Australia in Sydney last year.

The veteran also looked out of sorts in the first two ODIs, scoring just 11 and 26 while appearing unusually short on intent. Under immense pressure, Rohit took his time to settle in as captain Shubman Gill assumed the role of aggressor. Once he found his rhythm, however, the crisp cover drives and trademark pulls flowed effortlessly.

Rohit's century at Lord's eclipsed Sourav Ganguly's 90 against England in 2004 as the highest individual score by an Indian at the iconic venue. There was another milestone to celebrate: at 39 years and 80 days, Rohit became the oldest batter to score an ODI century at Lord's. He also became the oldest Indian cricketer to score an international century across all formats, underlining his ability to perform at the highest level despite persistent questions over his future.

Most ODI hundreds overseas

8 Rohit Sharma (England)
7 Sachin Tendulkar (UAE)
7 Saeed Anwar (UAE)
7 AB de Villiers (India)
7 Quinton de Kock (India)