Australian legend Brett Lee heaped praise on Rohit Sharma after the Mumbai Indians (MI) superstar came up with a “selfless” act following his century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the weekend.
His surprise decision not to celebrate his century against CSK was much appreciated by Brett Lee and his fans on social media.
Rohit Sharma, whose side Mumbai Indians lost the contest to CSK despite his heroics with the bat, was in no mood to raise his willow after completing his eight hundred in T20 cricket.
The moment was hailed by fans on X while Brett Lee lauded him for the gesture on air.
“Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant hundred. The fact that he went out there, scored at a good clip too. I liked it when he scored his hundred, he didn't even raise his bat. For me, it shows that the win means more than his personal milestone. You know, he played with real intent right from ball one. He played shots all around the ground, but then the power and the finesse came into play. 105 not out of 63 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes, just unfortunately, you can't do everything on your own,” Brett Lee told Jio Cinema.
Additionally, “selfless” found a way to the top of the trends on X following Rohit Sharma's act.
As soon as Rohit Sharma made the move, it became one of the hottest topics of discussion on social media, with his vast legion of supporters hailing him for his “selfless” act.
On the other hand, some of them compared his decision not to celebrate his hundred against CSK with his Team India colleague Virat Kohli, whom they have often accused of playing for personal milestones.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma scripted history against CSK in the IPL, becoming the first Indian player to smack 500 sixes in T20 cricket.
After Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and asked Chennai Super Kings to bat first, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side put a big total of 206/4 on the board, thanks to Shivam Dube's blistering 66 not out off 38 balls and the former's 69 off 40 deliveries.
In reply, the onus was on Rohit Sharma to lead the Mumbai Indians in their mission to accomplish the target, which he did with commendable poise and elan.
The Mumbai Indians opener took off from the beginning, smashing the ball around the park to complete his fifty in only 31 balls besides having a 70-run partnership for the opening wicket with Ishan Kishan to give the home team a flying start in their run chase.
Subsequently, in the 11th over of their innings, Rohit Sharma made history as he became the first Indian batter and the fifth overall to reach the milestone of 500 sixes in the 20-over format of the sport.
Rohit Sharma's mega feat came against CSK spinner and his Team India teammate Ravindra Jadeja when he lofted him over the ropes for a maximum on the second ball of the over.
With this, Rohit Sharma joined an elite list of cricketers who have 500 sixes to their names in T20 cricket.
Other than the Nagpur-born batter, the men who have hit 500 sixes in T20 cricket are Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and New Zealand's Colin Munro.
Among Indians, no other player has even hit 400 sixes in the 20-over format with Virat Kohli lying in second place with 383 maximums to his name.
Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, and KL Rahul are the other three batters to have struck at least 300 sixes in T20s.
Though Rohit Sharma created this massive record and also brought up his 8th T20 century, he was left dejected at the end of the day as he failed to take Mumbai Indians across the finishing line with CSK winning the clash by 20 runs.
In the end, Rohit Sharma carried the bat through as he remained unbeaten on 105 off 63 balls but Mumbai Indians could only put 186/6 on the board in their allocated 20 overs.
Throughout his blitzkrieg, Rohit Sharma remained in search of an able partner, who could stand with him at the other end, but to no avail.
Apart from Tilak Verma, who scored 31 off 20 balls, no other Mumbai Indians batter could find a way past the CSK bowling line-up. Rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Hardik Pandya (2 off 6 deliveries) and Suryakumar Yadav, who left the pitch without troubling the scorers, only allowed pressure to build, not helping the Mumbai Indians cause whatsoever.
Eventually, not enough balls were left for Rohit Sharma to go for the kill in the final few overs, leaving him stranded on an unbeaten ton while his side slipped to the eighth position on the table, having lost their 4th match in the current edition of the IPL.
Rohit Sharma is currently the fourth-highest run-scorer in IPL 2024 with 261 runs in six matches while his Team India colleague Virat Kohli tops the charts with 361 runs in seven games.
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