Rohit Sharma The Hitman scored India’s first ODI century at Lord’s on July 19 with Shardul Thakur’s bat.
India were chasing 388 in the deciding third ODI against England. During the innings, Rohit switched to an SS bat that Shardul had given him months earlier. He did not change back. He finished with 138 off 110 balls, 17 fours and 5 sixes, becoming the first Indian to score an ODI century at the Home of Cricket, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s previous highest of 93 at the venue. England still won by 27 runs and took the series 2-1, a result that only added to the weight of an innings played in the middle of intense debate about Rohit’s ODI future.
The bat had not arrived suddenly. Shardul had given Rohit a couple of his SS willows previously, after Rohit told him how much he liked the pickup and feel of the bats. When the moment of need arrived at Lord’s, one of those bats was already in the dressing room.
Speaking to The Indian Express after the match, Shardul said:
“I am signed with SS bats and Jatin Sareen (owner) has been very kind to send me some excellent piece of willows. Rohit once requested me to give him a couple of bats since he loved them. We all love him and he’s given us so many joyful moments in the game of cricket that denying him the bats was out of question. And today I am really happy that he scored his historic hundred at Lord’s cricket ground using one of my bats.”
Shardul Thakur, The Indian Express, July 19, 2026
What made the moment more striking was where Shardul was sitting when this was happening. He was not in the Indian dressing room. He was in the Sony Sports Hindi commentary box, watching from outside the ground.
When co-commentator Vivek Razdan asked him about the bat during the broadcast, Shardul confirmed it on air and said he had given “a start to India in the form of Rohit” from where he was sitting. As the camera picked up Shardul’s name embossed on the toe of the bat, he said:
“Ye banega kal ka headline.”
Shardul Thakur, Sony Sports, July 19, 2026
Translation: “This will be tomorrow’s headline.”
“𝒀𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆” 😌
Truer words have not been spoken, Shardul 🤌
Watch #ENGvIND 3rd ODI LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network TV channels. #SonySportsNetwork #MamlaPersonalHai #ExtraaaInnings pic.twitter.com/jigSCRiR9U
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 19, 2026
Shardul made his last India appearance in 2025. He was part of this England tour not as a player but as a member of Sony’s Hindi commentary unit. His bat was inside the dressing room. He was outside it.
The Lord Behind the Bat
Rohit and Shardul have known each other since school, where Shardul was Rohit’s junior. They came through Mumbai’s domestic cricket together, played Ranji Trophy for the same side, and shared the Mumbai Indians dressing room in IPL 2026.
The nickname that defined Shardul’s public identity came from Rohit himself. In a pre-match exchange at IPL 2025, caught on camera, Shardul told Rohit he came to the ground to meet only one person, “The Lord.” Rohit laughed and replied, “Khud ko ‘The Lord’ bol raha hai.” Shardul’s answer settled it: “Aur kya, tune he rakha hai naam.”
Translation: “Of course. You are the one who gave the name.”
This is the bond inside which the bat was given. Not a transaction between professional colleagues. Something that started long before either of them played for India.
Insider Read:
Changing bats mid-innings is not luck and it is not random. Professional cricketers carry multiple bats to every match, each built differently. Different weights. Different handle types: short handle or long handle, each changing how freely the wrists can move through the shot. Some bats have a straight profile, others a slight curve at the centre to push the meat of the blade forward. For hitting through the line and scoring quickly, batters prefer a flatter, full-profile bat. The profiles vary even further: full spine, duckbill, and everything in between. Each is built for a different purpose, a different phase of an innings.
When Rohit reached for Shardul’s bat, the switch carried a specific intent. A bat chosen for flat-bat hitting and quick scoring serves a different purpose than one built for building an innings. The profile Rohit switched to was suited to a batter looking to accelerate. That is what the change was for.
Reaching for Shardul’s bat in a series decider and finding the middle immediately is not luck. It means Rohit had used that bat enough in practice to know its character. That kind of comfort does not come from one session. The bats had been with him. He knew them.
In professional cricket, equipment gets shared between players more quietly than the outside world knows. But there is a difference between someone offering you a bat to try in the nets and reaching for it in the middle of a 388-run chase at Lord’s. You only do the second when the trust in that piece of wood is already there.
In Mumbai cricket, that kind of trust is built over years and across formats. Seniors pass things down to juniors. The relationship between Rohit and Shardul, from shared school benches to domestic dressing rooms to the national setup, is exactly the kind that produces a quiet transfer like this. Rohit asking for the bats months earlier was not an unusual request inside that world. Shardul giving them without hesitation was the only answer that relationship allowed.
On July 19 at Lord’s, that answer became India’s first ODI century at the Home of Cricket.
Sources
Shardul Thakur, Sony Sports, July 19, 2026
