Rohit Sharma may finally relax after achieving a confidence-boosting hundred in Sunday’s second one-day international (ODI) against England, one month after his dismal form caused him to withdraw from a test match in Sydney.
Rohit has struggled in tests and left T20 Internationals only minutes after leading India to their second 20-overs World Cup victory last year.
The Mumbai player will turn 38 in April, and according to media reports, starting later this month, the selectors have questioned him about his plans after the Champions Trophy.
In the first ODI against England, Rohit scored two runs, but his 119 off 90 balls on Sunday served as a timely reminder that the graceful opener is still very much in his prime.The classic sound of the bat hitting the ball signalled that the 50-overs mainstay was back in his own as Rohit, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball, clobbered seven easy sixes.
In reference to his strategy, player-of-the-match Rohit stated, “I really broke it down into pieces about how I wanted to bat.”
A 50-over format is used. However, you still need to break it down and evaluate what you need to do on a daily basis, which is what I continued to do.
“I focused on batting as deep as possible because it’s crucial for a batter who gets set.”
In ODIs, Rohit has followed the pattern of evaluating before exploding, which has allowed him to score three 200-plus scores, the most by a batter, including 264, which is still the greatest individual score in this format.
On Sunday in Cuttack, Rohit blasted the English bowlers all over the park at Barabati Stadium after avoiding the cross-batted drives early in his knock.
The right-hander stated, “It’s crucial to display the entire face of the bat when you’re batting initially because the ball tends to skid a little when you play on black soil.”
After I started my innings, I realised what they were attempting to do: bowl into our body, leaving no space, and keeping it on the stumps.
“I also prepared my plan there, figuring out what I wanted to do with those deliveries and attempting to fill in the gaps.” It all comes down to knowing what you want to accomplish as a batter.
On February 20, India will play Bangladesh in Dubai to start their Champions Trophy campaign.
