3 Indian records Rohit Sharma can break as an opener in Test cricket

Rohit Sharma has been one of the finest limited-overs batsmen in the recent past. In the past few years, Rohit has achieved almost every possible milestone and still continues to scale greater heights in his tenure as an opening batsman.

After plying his trade as an opener in shorter versions of the game and attaining quite a lot of success, the ongoing series against South Africa saw Rohit opening the batting for India in the first Test match of the three-match series. To nobody's surprise, Rohit did justice to the decision by notching up back-to-back centuries in his first two innings as an opening batsman.

In the first Test match at Visakhapatnam, Rohit had a major role to play in both the innings of the Test match. He stitched a record 317-run opening stand alongside Mayank Agarwal in the first innings and to back his fine show from the first essay, Rohit approached an aggressive strategy and scored a quick century off just 133 balls.

With his efforts in his maiden Test as opener, Rohit is certain to hold on to his spot at the top of the order for a long time to come. With the backing of the management and the skipper, Rohit will want to cement his place at the top as an attacking Test opener.

Here we take a look at three Indian records which Rohit can break as a Test opener.

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#3 Most sixes in an innings

Rohit is known for his aggressive style of play

Known for his ability to clear the rope with ease, Rohit is known for his six-hitting prowess in the LOI formats. He owns the record for most sixes in T20Is and will want to claim the record in the longest format of the game as well.

Currently, Navjot Singh Sidhu owns the record for most sixes in an innings by an Indian in Test cricket, dating back to 1994 when he smashed eight sixes in his 124-run knock against Sri Lanka at Lucknow.

Rohit also came to close to equaling this record in his first innings as an opener as he hit six sixes, and followed it up with seven sixes in the second innings, but in the end, he agonizingly missed out from claiming the illustrious record.

However, he did smash the record for most sixes in Test match, which was previously owned by Wasim Akram. Rohit went past Wasim Akram's tally of 12 sixes in a match with the 13 sixes he picked up from the first Test.

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#2 Fastest Hundred

Rohit scored a hundred in each of his innings

Whenever we talk about scoring hundreds across all the formats of the game, there are only a few names in International cricket that come to mind. Rohit Sharma is one such player who features on this list, as the right-handed batsman is the only player in world cricket to smash four T20I centuries and register three double tons in ODIs. He even holds the record for the the fastest century in T20Is, off just 35 balls.

With his current form and the kind of reputation he has built in the past few years, Rohit will also have an opportunity to account for the fastest century in Test cricket by an Indian cricketer.

Currently, Kapil Dev has the honour of having scored the fastest Test century by an Indian, having reached the landmark off just 74 balls against Sri Lanka. If Rohit can continue with his fine form, there's no denying the fact that he can register the fastest century even in this format of the game.

#1 Highest score

Rohit Sharma's 176 was his 4th Test century

Rohit has always been known for amassing huge scores, mostly in the shorter versions of the game. With three double centuries in ODI cricket, Rohit has made a habit of scoring big runs at the International level. While he embarks upon a new journey in Test cricket, there are also chances that he could register the highest individual score for an Indian cricketer in this format.

Once set, run-scoring does become an easier job in Test cricket, with open fields and the need to just hit through the gaps. A sweet timer of the ball, Rohit will enjoy this luxury as an opener and would love to replicate his success even in Test cricket. He looked certain of his game in both the innings of the Vizag Test, despite his early struggles against seam bowling.

Given that Rohit has a penchant for scoring big scores, Rohit could be in line to notch up the highest score in Test cricket and earn yet another unique record to his name. Given that run-scoring has become easier for Indian batsmen, in particular, on Indian pitches, Rohit could be backed to cross the 319-run mark set by Virender Sehwag.