Indore: India captain Rohit Sharma slammed the broadcasters for showing 101 off 85 balls against New Zealand in the third ODI at Holkar Stadium, Indore, which was his first three-figure mark score in “three years”, adding that one has to show right things also.
As Rohit pulled to deep square leg off Blair Tickner to get to his 30th ODI century and second against New Zealand, the broadcasters flashed the statistic that it was the Indian skipper’s first ton since January 19, 2020.
While the statistic was correct, Rohit felt in the post-match press conference that it did not convey the correct picture, pointing out he hardly played any ODIs during that period due to various reasons.
“I have played only 12 ODIs in three years. Three years sounds (like) a lot, but in that three years, I have played only 12 or 13 (17) ODIs if am not wrong. I know it was shown on the broadcast, sometimes we need to show the right things also.”
“Last entire year we didn’t play ODI cricket, we were focussing on T20 cricket a lot. Kabhi kabhi thoda woh hum ko dhyan chahiye, broadcaster ko bhi sahi cheez dikhana chahiye (We should pay attention to such things, the broadcaster, too, needs to check these things),” he said.
In his knock at Indore, Rohit took time before switching gears to get to his century, including nine fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 118.82. “Wapsi matlab kya main samjha nahi? (I don’t understand what you mean by my return). You are saying three years, out of which eight months we all were completely home due to Covid-19. Where were the matches happening?”
“And in the last year, we have just played T20 cricket. In T20 cricket at the moment, other than Suryakumar Yadav anyone else is batting better; he has hit two (T20I) centuries, and I don’t think anyone else has scored a century. In Test cricket, I have played just two matches against Sri Lanka. Otherwise, I was injured in between. Please check all that and after that, you can ask me (about my form),” he added.
Rohit was also full of praise for his opening partner Shubman Gill, who was the leading run-getter in the series and slammed his third ODI ton in the last four innings, taking home the Player of the Series award. At Indore, Gill slammed 112 off 78 balls, hitting 13 fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 143.59 and shared an opening partnership of 212 with Rohit.
“Honestly, with the way he (Shubman) was batting in and before this series, I don’t think much needs to be told. He understands his game really well, if you see he paces his innings very well, you have to go big and deep into the game. He has big hundreds but no matter how flat the pitch is, to get a double-hundred, it is never easy.”
“When he got the double-hundred, the next best score was 34, it showed he was calculative, needs to bat as long as possible, which is why we got 350+ and he understands his role and responsibility. He’s got great maturity, the way he thinks and approaches his game.”
“The first time when I saw him was in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Test series and has got his time in Test cricket. The way he has been batting in ODI cricket, it is just wonderful to watch. I just get the feeling that he understands his game really well, that’s the key,” he concluded.
–IANS
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