Rohit Sharma on Saturday became the first-ever batsman to score two centuries on debut as a Test opener after he reached the three-figure mark for the second time in the ongoing first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, report agencies.
Rohit, who had scored 176 in his first innings as a Test opener on day one of the match, made 127 off 149 balls on fourth day, to help India stretch their overall lead over South Africa and press for victory in the opening test.
Rohit also became the sixth Indian to score a hundred in both innings a Test and ninth overall to achieve this feat. Ajinkya Rahane was the last Indian batsman to record two hundreds in the Test and he made it against the same opposition in 2015. Rohit also rewrote the record of most sixes in a Test match. Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram had blasted 12 sixes against Zimbabwe at Sheikhpura. Rohit broke the record when he hammered Dean Piedt for three successive sixes and reached 13.
Incidentally, Rohit also became the first Indian batsman to be stumped in both the innings of a Test match. Sunil Gavaskar leads the list, scoring twin hundreds on three occasions. The former Indian skipper achieved the feat against West Indies in 1971 at Port of Spain, against Pakistan at Karachi in 1978, and against West Indies again in 1978 at Kolkata.
Vijay Hazare was the first Indian to achieve the feat way back in 1948 against Australia at Adelaide. Rahul Dravid did it twice.
The first time he made two hundreds in a Test was against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1999 and he repeated the feat against Pakistan in 2005 against Pakistan at Kolkata.
