RO-HIT Sharma shows the way with a classic century against the Aussies in BGT Series
On Friday morning, when Murphy was nagging with his line and length, accuracy, and cool demeanor, some of the Indian batters fell. Not Rohit, who was his usual aggressive self.
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Rohit Sharma
Time flies. It seems like yesterday Rohit Sharma made his Test debut at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata when Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 199th Test against West Indies. It was a series conceived just as a farewell for SRT, with the finale in his glittering Test career ending in November 2013 in Mumbai.
Almost nine years and three months hence, as Test skipper, Rohit Sharma came good with a timely ton on Day Two of the first contest in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series in Nagpur. Scoring big is no big deal for Rohit, in white-ball cricket. Considering that this was an acid test against the Aussies, Rohit hammered a hundred, the first Indian captain to do so in all formats.
There were doubts over Rohit in Tests as he played very few in 2022. There is pressure and responsibility on the shoulders of the leader. He soaked it well over two days. To say that he batted superbly in the conditions would be stating the obvious as the wicket has not been perfect for batting.
Questions are asked almost after each ball, but that does not explain how so many Indian batsmen of great caliber fell to debutant spinner Todd Murphy. Sample this, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and R. Ashwin were among his victims. It raised doubts over how Indian batters are also susceptible to spin. That debate can wait for a while.
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Rohit is the first Indian skipper to score a hundred in all formats of cricket
This is the time to celebrate Rohit’s hundred in red-ball cricket, something which is pleasing. When he started to open in white ball cricket, it was different. From the Test debut in Kolkata to Nagpur, there has been a change. Since 2019, in 31 innings, Rohit has scored over 1650 runs and four hundred. What has been unique is Rohit has not played dull and dour cricket.
On Friday morning, when Murphy was nagging with his line and length, accuracy, and cool demeanor, some of the Indian batters fell. Not Rohit, who was his usual aggressive self. There has been a lot of criticism for him in recent times in ODIs and T20, where he is in and out, so to choose a Test to hammer a hundred was exciting.
There is a tendency to get bogged under pressure for some batters. No, not for Rohit, whose aggression and fast scoring ensued India were not going to collapse. He stood, he scored, he dominated. And that, when batters at the other end were walking in an out like a revolving door. To say that Rohit saved India the blushes would be stating the obvious, as this Aussie spin attack did a decent job.
Rohit knows there is a lot at stake in this series. There is honor and respect at stake and also the fact that after taming the Aussies in their own den in 2021, expectations are high. It always helps to show intent and lead the way, which Rohit did. He also gave a lesson in batting skills even as he had Ravindra Jadeja for company. Jadeja, too, batted without getting bogged down.
What is unique about Rohit’s batting is he scored boundaries with a flourish. That’s refreshing when the entire Aussie camp has been behaving like boors, cribbing about everything under the sun, pitch included. Rohit has stolen the thunder, and this sets the tone and tenor for the remainder of the BGT series.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)