Guwahati, September 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Veteran India opener Rohit Sharma revealed that the unusual celebration following his 35th ODI century against the West Indies was a deeply personal moment that he chose to keep to himself.
Rohit smashed a brilliant 101 off 75 balls at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, helping India chase down a target of 406 with an eight-wicket victory. He shared a massive 255-run opening partnership with captain Shubman Gill, who remained unbeaten on a career-best 223.
After reaching his century, Rohit marked the milestone with a high-knee jog while completing the single, followed by a subdued raise of his bat.
“I keep that celebration for myself. Ah, it’s for me. It’s for me. Some things are just meant to be with you. It’s not to be shared. So yeah, that was for me,” Rohit said after the match.
The veteran opener also revealed a humorous exchange with Ravindra Jadeja, who had asked him about the unusual celebration during the game.
“He was asking me what that was about. I said I’ll tell you in the dressing room. It’s for me,” Rohit said.
He added that Jadeja had suggested a more elaborate celebration involving a slide and a jump, but Rohit joked that it was never going to happen after spending 50 overs on the field before batting for nearly 30 overs.
Reflecting on India’s record chase, Rohit said the team deliberately avoided being overwhelmed by the 400-plus target and instead focused on partnerships and playing each delivery on its merit.
“The wicket was good. We just wanted to continue to keep batting. We were not thinking too much about the scoreboard, to be honest,” he said.
“We were just trying to play according to the merit of the ball, and we kept stitching the partnership, which is, I think, when you’re chasing a target like that, you need to keep stitching big partnerships, and that’s what we did,” he added.
Rohit praised Gill for maintaining control throughout his marathon innings and remaining unbeaten to complete the chase.
“Gill was fantastic on the other side, very much in control of his batting the entire innings, and to stay not out till the end was fantastic to see as well,” he said.
Rohit also highlighted the physical and mental challenge of batting for nearly 30 overs after spending the entire West Indies innings in the field in humid conditions.
“Again, that comes down to concentration. You’ve got to keep telling yourself not to throw it away, because conditions here are challenging, but that’s where I wanted to just bring my experience of playing for so many years,” he said.
He added that the top-order partnership had put India firmly in control of the chase.
“You just don’t want to give it that easily; try and stay as much as possible in the game, and we knew that the pitch was good, and we needed big runs from the top order, and that’s exactly what happened,” Rohit said.
“We had a very good partnership at the top, and that pretty much sealed the game for us. 250-odd run partnership there. As I said, it was amazing to watch Gill on the other side, and glad we could finish on the high,” he concluded.
FOLLOW NOW
