India's Rohit Sharma: Record-breaking centuries irrelevant without World Cup win

Despite going to three figures for a fifth time the opener won't rank the feat among his key achievements without a winners medal

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India's record-breaking batsman Rohit Sharma insists his five centuries will be meaningless if his side do not go on to win the World Cup.

The 32-year-old struck 103 in the seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka to become the first player to go to three figures on five occasions during a single tournament.

But if India are unable to add to their two titles from 1983 and 2011 then Sharma will not see the haul as a significant achievement.

"If you win the World Cup then maybe," he explained. "Eventually winning the game is important no matter how many runs you score or how many wickets you take but it is important to get the job done. 

"We have all been looking for this World Cup. It only comes every four years so eventually the job for us to go and win finals. 

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"If that is not accomplished then it doesn't matter how many runs you get, you won't feel satisfied."

Set 265 to win, centuries from Sharma and opening partner KL Rahul saw India chase down the target with 39 balls to spare.

Nations have found it tough to chase during the World Cup but the victory gave Sharma plenty of satisfaction ahead of the semi-finals.

"We want to cover all the bases, tick all the boxes ahead of the semi-finals," he added. "We won't be able to afford mistakes on that day so that was very, very important. 

"We scored a good amount of runs. After the South Africa game this was the second chase we were in so we wanted to make sure we were ready to go."

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk

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