Rohit Sharma enters record books with historic feat in rain-hit Wellington ODI

India's Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma etched his name in ODI history on Saturday as he became the batter with the most sixes against New Zealand in the 50-over format. The India opener achieved the milestone during the second ODI at Hnry Stadium in Wellington, moving past former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi's long-standing record.Rohit needed two sixes to surpass Afridi's tally of 50 maximums against the Black Caps and reached the landmark during his 23-run knock off 28 deliveries in India's chase of 135. The 39-year-old brought up the record with two sixes off New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson, one each in the seventh and ninth overs.

The Mumbai batter, who had registered a six-ball duck in the series opener in Auckland on Wednesday, bounced back with a couple of maximums to take his tally to 51 sixes in 34 innings across 36 ODIs against New Zealand.Afridi had struck 50 sixes in 35 innings from 38 matches against the Black Caps between 1996 and 2015. West Indies great Chris Gayle occupies the third spot with 45 sixes, while former Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya is fourth with 41. England's Jos Buttler and India's Virat Kohli complete the top six with 29 sixes each.

Most ODI sixes against New Zealand

Rohit's milestone came in a rain-affected contest that saw India take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

India were chasing a modest target of 135 in a match reduced to 47 overs per side but found themselves in a difficult position at 113/7 after 26 overs when rain brought the contest to a halt.With India needing another 23 runs and only three wickets remaining, New Zealand appeared to have a chance of pulling off a comeback. However, India were four runs ahead of the required score under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method when play was abandoned, handing them a four-run victory.New Zealand's bowlers had made life difficult for the visitors, with Jamieson and Jacob Duffy sharing six wickets between them. Both finished with identical figures of 3/35, with Duffy removing Shubman Gill for a first-ball duck and Kohli for seven.

India had slipped to 47/4 before Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings with 30 off 46 balls. Rohit's 23 also provided some stability, while KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 26 when the rain intervened.India subsequently lost Naman Dhir and Anshul Kamboj in quick succession after reaching 86/5, leaving the lower order with a challenging task. However, the rain ended New Zealand's hopes of defending the total, with the match eventually called off amid a heavy shower at around 11 pm local time.The result gave India their second successive DLS victory in the series after they had beaten New Zealand by five wickets in the opening ODI in Auckland, where the hosts were bowled out for 185.