Rohit Sharma’s 63 in the third and final ODI against West Indies at Cuttack on Sunday (December 22) was notable for a number of reasons.
The knock saw him break former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya’s 22-year old record for most runs in a calendar year across formats. He has scored 2388 runs across formats compared to Jayasuriya’s 1997 tally of 2387.
The only other Indian to feature in the top 5 highest run-getters in a calendar year was Virender Sehwag in 2008, when he scored 2355 runs across formats.
Milestone 🚨Rohit Sharma surpasses Sanath Jayasuriya as the leading run scorer in a calendar year across formats. pic.twitter.com/E4Cr7n6ret
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 22, 2019
A look at the year-wise breakdown in the number of runs he has scored since his ODI debut in 2008 also showcases just how far he has come as a run-getter since that time.
He has crossed the 1000-run mark in ODIs in the last three years but prior to that had only crossed that figure once in 2013.
Rohit has also scored the most 50+ scores (13) in ODI cricket this year with 7 centuries and 6 fifties - the next best being West Indies batsman Shai Hope with 12 such scores (4 hundred and 8 fifties).
This has been a good year for Rohit. He was the highest scorer in the 2019 World Cup and subsequently revived his Test career when handed a chance to open the batting in the longest format of the game.
He scored 529 runs in four innings after making his debut as a Test opener in the home series against South Africa and looks set to continue in the position for a while.