India skipper Rohit Sharma sent the internet into a frenzy after he asked his deputy KL Rahul to pick the trophy following the ODI series triumph against Australia in Rajkot on Wednesday.

With his selfless gesture, Rohit Sharma acknowledged KL Rahul's contribution as captain as he led Team India in the absence of the former during the first two games in Mohali and Indore.

Rohit Sharma was given rest from the ODIs in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, with KL Rahul taking over the captaincy duties in both those matches.

KL Rahul led the side well, guiding the Men in Blue to comprehensive victories at both places, giving India a 2-0 lead over Australia in the three-match series.

Rohit Sharma returned as captain for the third ODI in Indore. However, unlike KL Rahul, he couldn't power India to victory over the Pat Cummins-led side, with the home team losing by 66 runs.

But India clinched the series 2-1.

Following the conclusion of the series, Rohit Sharma was to collect the series winners' trophy. Instead, he invited KL Rahul to do the honors because he led the team in the initial two matches.

His gesture did not go unnoticed by the fans, who praised him for his humility and love for his teammates.

 

Meanwhile, X, formerly Twitter, was flooded with memes after Rohit Sharma scripted history against Australia in the third ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Rohit Sharma began India's run chase explosively, smashing a quickfire of 81 off 57 balls after Australia won the toss and posted a huge total of 352/7 on the board.

Rohit Sharma's splendid innings included five boundaries and six sixes.

As the Nagpur-born cricketer's knock featured six maximums, Rohit Sharma shattered the record for most sixes in a single nation. Currently, he has 257 sixes to his name in India.

Previously, this record was with New Zealand opener Martin Guptill, who struck 256 sixes in his home country.

The other men who have smashed more than 200 sixes in a single country are Martin Guptill's New Zealand colleague Brendon McCullum (230) and Chris Gayle (228).

Most international sixes in a country
257 – Rohit Sharma in IND*
256 – Martin Guptill in NZ
230 – Brendon McCullum in NZ
228 – Chris Gayle in WI
186 – MS Dhoni in IND

During the course of his knock, Rohit Sharma also became the quickest to reach the landmark of 550 sixes across formats in international cricket.

While West Indies great Chris Gayle required 548 essays to accomplish the milestone, Rohit Sharma took only 471 innings to get there.

However, Chris Gayle still holds the record for hitting the maximum sixes in international cricket, having smoked 553 during his illustrious career. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma follows him close behind with 551 sixes.

Most sixes across formats in international cricket
Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 553 sixes
Rohit Sharma (India) – 551 sixes*
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) – 476 sixes
Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) – 398 sixes
Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 383 sixes
MS Dhoni (India) – 359 sixes
Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) – 352 sixes
Eoin Morgan (England) – 346 sixes
AB de Villiers (South Africa) – 328 sixes
Jos Buttler – 312 sixes*

Among other milestones Rohit Sharma achieved in Rajkot was becoming the fifth Indian batter to score a half-century in the initial ten overs of a 50-over contest.

Before Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, and Robin Uthappa had attained the feat in One-Day Internationals.

Also, Rohit Sharma is the first batter to smash five sixes against the Australian's frontline bowling line-up featuring Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.

Rohit Sharma's brilliant batting display couldn't save India from losing the match in Gujarat as the hosts were bowled out for 286 in 49.4 overs, handing the Australians a comfortable 66-run victory.

India's defeat did not make any difference to the series' outcome as the Men in Blue had already won it after beating the Kangaroos in the first two games in Indore and Mohali.

India's loss in the final ODI against Australia did not deter Rohit Sharma from praising his team's performance in the last four weeks.

During this period, India won the Asia Cup after registering comprehensive victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo.

India's Asia Cup triumph was followed by a convincing ODI series win over Australia.

“I'm pretty happy [with my own form]. Of course I'd like to go all the way along but as long as I'm hitting like that I'm happy,” Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“The last 7-8 ODIs we've played really well in different conditions. We were challenged at different times and we took that challenge really well. Unfortunately not the result we wanted today but I'm not going to look too much into this game. We've been playing really well,” the India skipper added.

Rohit Sharma asserted that specific roles have been assigned to individuals in the team when asked about India's squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup at home.

“When we talk about the 15, we are very clear what we want and who are the guys who are gonna do the job for us. Pretty clear in our mind, not confused. We know where we are headed as a team. It's a team sport at the end of the day and you need everyone to come and play their part. That's how you win championships. Focus on the next one and a half months will be on that. How we are going to manage ourselves on the field, looking after our body and making sure that we stay fresh for each game that is in front of us,” Rohit Sharma concluded.