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India were 22/4 inside four overs but judging by the way Rohit Sharma was going after two successive ducks, there was hardly any circumspection in his approach. The Indian captain could have easily got out for a single-digit score – even a third zero on the trot – but rode his luck and exploded as the innings went on. His fifth T20I hundred, the most by anyone in the format, would have brought much relief for him and the selectors. It would have put to rest any doubts, if there were any in the first place, about his spot for the ICC T20 World Cup.
When the selectors brought back Rohit and Virat Kohli for the series against Afghanistan, they couched it as a necessity due to the unavailability of the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. But there was no doubt that the selectors were getting cold feet over picking a squad that didn’t include the two veterans – even though the youngsters who had been given opportunities since the last World Cup in the format had done hardly anything wrong.
They have displayed a fearless approach with the bat, which was often missing earlier, but is imperative for success in the format. Kohli has definitely read the memo and perished first ball taking on the bowling on a pitch that was not a featherbed early on, with the ball sticking in the pitch and bouncing a bit more from short of a length.
India being in such strife played into Rohit’s hands in a way. With the impressive Rinku Singh for company, it allowed, or rather forced him, to rein himself in for a while. The run rate was less than six an over till the halfway mark of the innings, but once the impressive left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad and Azmatullah Omarzai were through their initial spells and leg-spinner Qais Ahmad was off, the second line of the Afghan attack was a few notches lower in standard and experience.
Changing gears
Rohit reached his fifty in 41 balls, rather pedestrian by T20 standards, but he had begun to cut loose by then. Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin was dispatched for two consecutive sixes, the second one an uncharacteristic reverse-sweep that took the Indian skipper’s strike rate beyond 100.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium is not the biggest of grounds, and with the fast outfield, the two got into the act. India have made the conscious decision to target 200 when batting first, regardless of the situation they find themselves in initially. The onslaught also proves that one doesn’t need to go berserk from the start, as India has been doing of late.
Rohit’s pedigree and hitting ability when set was on full display as he found the boundary, and the stands, almost at will. The lack of experience showed as there were frequent no-balls, both for height and width, as well as wides. The skipper was literally playing with the field and unleashing shots such as the reverse-pull, which don’t find a place either in the coaching manual or Rohit’s usual repertoire. Debutant seamer Mohammad Saleem was targeted for special treatment and went for 43 in three overs, Rohit taking him for a four and a six off consecutive balls. It clearly rattled the bowler as he responded with a high full toss.
Omarzai has a bright future with both ball and bat and Karim Janat has quite a bit of international experience but showed that anyone can go for runs in the death overs as the two batsmen cut loose.
Rohit’s second fifty took merely 23 balls and he later came to bat in the two Super Overs as well to hit a few more lusty blows. It confirmed his ticket to the United States and the Caribbean in the summer, but it remains to be seen at whose expense and to what effect, as India aims to end the major ICC trophy drought that has now lasted more than a decade.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 17-01-2024 at 23:54 IST
