Irfan Pathan's prediction proven right: Rohit Sharma achieves milestone in India's whitewash of New Zealand

Rohit Sharma Irfan Pathan (Image source: Twitter)

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan had previously expressed his belief that Rohit Sharma would achieve a major milestone, and on Tuesday, Sharma proved him right. Sharma, who is also the Indian cricket team's captain, smashed a century in the third and final One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand, helping India to a 3-0 series whitewash. The century, which was Sharma's first in three years, came at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

Opening batsman Shubman Gill also had a strong performance, notching up his fourth ODI century in the same match. The centuries from Sharma and Gill played a crucial role in India's 90-run win over New Zealand. This was a great comeback for Sharma who had not been in his best form in the recent past.

Irfan Pathan highlighted that Sharma is on the verge of completing 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. "He has taken full command of the Indian batting since he started opening, either through a good average or with the approach he has changed in the last one to one-and-a-half years - with a good strike rate. So he is continuously contributing. A century has come after three years and 10,000 runs will also come," Pathan said in an interview with Star Sports.

Rohit Sharma equalled Ricky Pointing's 30 ODI Century record

Rohit's superb knock against New Zealand was also his 30th ODI ton. The 35-year-old has equalled Ricky Ponting's century record in the 50-over format. Rohit slammed his 30th ODI ton in 83 balls at Indore. This was also Rohit's second-fastest century in the 50-over format. The senior batter last scored an ODI ton against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2020. The win was also a good sign for India ahead of the World Cup 2023.

"He has equalled Ricky Ponting's 30 ODI centuries. Even in his (Ponting's) country, he (Rohit) has an average of around 53, which is a huge number, and has scored five hundreds also there. He has an average of 64 in England as well. So he has scored runs everywhere and we have seen him scoring runs in India regularly in any case," Irfan added.