Rohit Sharma played a timely knock in Chennai. Image Credits: AFP
At one stage, Rohit Sharma was 14 off 24 in the eighth over and looked scratchy at the crease. He had played 20 dot balls and hardly looked fluent.
For Rohit, this was more than just another innings. It may not have cost him his place in the ODI squad, but it would have amplified the lingering doubts over how much longer India could afford to persist with him.
The Yashasvi Jaiswal role in Rohit Sharma’s timely knock
Fortunately for Rohit Sharma, he could bide his time and try to find the rhythm back. It’s something he hasn’t done often in the format, as his role was pretty much to act as an aggressor and maximise the powerplay.
This time, Yashasvi Jaiswal did that for him. Despite getting out cheaply in the previous innings himself, Jaiswal took the attacking route and took the pressure off Rohit.
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At a time when Rohit was trying to find his way after 24 balls, he raced away to 36 off 21, with six boundaries and a maximum. Had Jaiswal not been the aggressor, Rohit would have taken more risks, and who knows, possibly ended with another underwhelming score.
Eventually, he picked up too in the later phase of the powerplay, but his partner remained more attacking. India ended with 86 runs in the powerplay, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring 53.48% of the total runs at 143.75.
There is a certain irony to it. The spot Jaiswal is fighting for is currently occupied by Rohit, yet his early impetus may have helped Rohit hold on to it for a little longer. In doing so, he may have inadvertently delayed his own claim to a place in the XI.
Rohit’s middle-overs show
Even at this age, Rohit Sharma remains one of the better innings builders when the field is spread, having done it again and again over the years. Hence, once Jaiswal’s support helped him overcome the tricky phase with the new ball, he was not going to miss out.
After ending the powerplay with a strike rate of 90, Rohit Sharma surged his strike rate to 133.33 in the middle overs. He hit seven boundaries in 39 deliveries and covered up for a slow start.
Rohit Sharma started slow before picking up
The most notable aspect of the show was his battle with the ace spinner Rashid Khan. He had dismissed him with a ripper in Lucknow and was again going to pose a massive threat.
Rohit was proactive this time and didn’t allow Rashid to do his thing again. He combined his strong bottom hand with sweep shots to unsettle the spinner right from the start.
Initially, Rohit Sharma played a flick towards midwicket to earn a boundary before a slog sweep over deep square leg. Later, he repeated his flick before showing his off-side mastery with an aerial drive over cover to leave Rashid out of options.
Having been hit on fuller lengths, the Afghanistan spinner was forced into bowling short, for which Rohit was prepared. He stayed on the back foot and pulled ferociously over deep midwicket for a huge maximum.
Rohit scored 42 runs off 24 balls against Rashid, with five fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 175. While the leg-spinner managed to contain Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, Rohit took the attack to him and, in the process, returned Jaiswal’s earlier favour by shouldering the burden of the matchup himself.
Rashid Khan did well against other batters, but was expensive against Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma gives himself a longer rope in ODIs
Rohit Sharma ended with 79 off 69 deliveries, hitting his 95th 50+ score in the format. He had found starts earlier in the rubber, but a milestone number, even if management denies, shapes perceptions.
As it turns out, Rohit will play the England series, with Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped despite hitting a century. The knock, even if not a century, in Chennai couldn’t have been more timely.
The selectors have been ruthless with their calls, as visible by the omission of Suryakumar Yadav from T20Is. Runs are what eventually matter.
So, in many ways, this innings summed up where Rohit Sharma currently stands in his ODI career. The quality remains evident, but so does the scrutiny. Every failure invites fresh questions, while every substantial score serves as a reminder of the value he still brings.
Chennai did not end the debate around his future, nor was it meant to. However, it ensured that the selectors could afford to postpone it a little longer.
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