He was far from his best, but Rohit Sharma grinded it out and rode his luck to make a strong statement as he held one end up for India in the second ODI against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
The right-handed batter, 38, saw through the probing first spells of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett to eventually score 73 runs off 97 balls with the help of nine fours and two sixes to help India post 264/9 in the allotted fifty overs.
In the first two overs of the innings, Rohit ended up facing 11 balls, scoring just one run. This solid fighting effort in the middle led to Rohit earning praise from former India batter Mohammad Kaif, who minced no words as he called it the “most important innings for his career.”
When Australia asked India to bat first, the pitch was doing all sorts of tricks as the ball was jagging around, and Rohit was extremely lucky to survive Hazlewood’s opening spell. The tall pacer was making the ball talk, and the Hitman had no clue. The opening few overs also saw Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) falling cheaply, but Rohit found support in Shreyas Iyer as the duo put the innings back on track.
Shreyas and Rohit eventually put on 118 runs for the third wicket, and this stand was the main reason behind India going past the 260-run mark in Adelaide. Hence, it is no surprise that Kaif reserved special praise for the former India captain.
“Too much social media chatter about his future, tough pitch, world-class pacers operating, Gill and Kohli out cheaply… Despite all that, Rohit plays a very important inning for India and his career. This 73 at Adelaide will give him a lot of confidence. Rohit shows he isn’t’ going anywhere,” Kaif wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Question marks over Rohit and Virat
The three-match ODI series against Australia is a vital litmus test for both Rohit and Virat, as questions hang over their heads regarding whether they will be able to play in the World Cup in 2027, considering they no longer play the other two formats.
Before the ODI in Adelaide, head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar were seen having a lengthy conversation with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and this led to further speculation about Rohit’s future.
Rohit might have gotten among the runs, but the road seems tough for Virat, considering the ODI great registered two back-to-back ducks in the opening two ODIs against Australia.
It is worth mentioning that the ongoing series against Australia is Rohit and Virat’s first international assignment after almost eight months.