Rohit Sharma’s taken to ODI cricket like a fish to water. His unbeaten hundred in Sydney, on October 25 against Australia, didn’t look like something that happened a month ago, but yesterday.
On what was a great batting track, Rohit didn’t get off to a flier like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli did. For the majority of the powerplay, he was stuck at the non-striker’s end. By the 6th over, Rohit had faced just 6 balls. In the next four overs, he faced 12 more balls. In comparison, Kohli was on strike for 26 deliveries in the powerplay despite coming in after Jaiswal departed.
Rohit Sharma continues golden post-captaincy touch
However, it was clear that Rohit was fluent. He wasn’t playing dots or getting troubled by Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger. In the next 10 overs, he got strike and cashed in. The former India captain brought up his fifty in the 19th over, taking just 43 balls. He now stands at number ten in batters with the most 50+ scores in ODI cricket, levelling Inzamam-Ul-Haq.
In the very next over, Rohit pulled Jansen for a maximum and became the record holder for most sixes in ODI cricket, breaking Shahid Afridi’s record. It looked like a century was on the cards for Rohit. And then tragedy struck. While attempting to pull Jansen again, in the 22nd over, a back-of-a-length delivery kept low and struck Rohit in the front.
The umpire raised his finger, and after deliberating, Rohit decided to walk back for a well-made 57 from 51. The decision was correct, as the broadcasters revealed it would have been three reds if India had taken a review. Rohit would have scored consecutive hundreds, but luck had it otherwise. However, one thing’s certain: Rohit has still got it.
