Rohit Sharma
record ton powers India to series win
If
you have to sum up Sri Lanka's plight in just one picture, cast your mind back
to the 12th over of the Indian innings ,Rohit Sharma was batting on 97.
Angelo Mathews was bowling the over. The India captain was just one hit away
from his second Twenty20 International century.
All
this while, Rohit had been putting away good balls for towering sixes and the
delivery he received at that stage only meant that getting to a century was a
cakewalk. Mathews floated one wide outside off and it was cracked past deep
point. Rohit had not only registered a ton but also equalled the record for the
fastest T20 century - getting there off
just 35 balls.
Mathews
,who had been fallen to follow , was down on his knees. Rohit, next to him, had
his hands aloft. The resemblance was uncanny. Sri Lankan bowling had yet again
been brought down onto its knees and it was at the hands of the same man, who
had done it on the previous instances as well.
While
his 264 at the Eden Gardens was laced with a few chances, during the double ton
in the Mohali ODI and the century in the T20I in Indore - there was very little
Sri Lanka bowlers could have done. Such was the display of nonchalant striking
that it could have well left you wondering why on earth would anyone want to be
a bowler.
But
in Rohit's case, the bowlers can be forgiven. He's made it a habit of exploding
once he is set. He has made it a habit to switch gears seamlessly in an
extremely shot span to dent the opposition like no other limited-overs player
at the moment. And it's that ability that's been unmatched thus far.
Rohit's
six-hitting prowess was on show on Friday as well, and it touched new heights
between the eighth and 11th over. From the third ball of the eighth over to the
end of the 11th over, Rohit hit six sixes and three fours. That's 48 runs in 15
deliveries. And in those 15 deliveries, KL Rahul faced three leaving Rohit with
12.
Take
this for instance, in the first four overs - India scored just 26. Rohit had
made only 10 in those. The carnage from Rohit started only from the sixth over.
He first took on Akila Dananjaya - who has managed to torment Rohit in his
short career - hitting him for 16 runs. Chaturanga de Silva was next and he too
was taken for the same number of runs in the eighth over. Asela Gunaratne and
Thisara Perera were taken to the cleaners too as their two overs yielded 47
with Rahul making just two of those. Rohit had scored 45 off 10 deliveries and
raced to 97 off 34.
By
the time Rohit's innings ended, where he made 118 off 43 - the highest score by
an Indian in T20Is - India had already posted 165 for the opening wicket inside
13 overs. Close to 92 percent of Rohit's runs had been scored in boundaries.
That's the maximum percentage of runs scored in boundaries any centurion has
managed in the history of T20 cricket.
For
most parts of his innings, Rohit threatened to become the first batsman to
score a double century in a T20I. He eventually fell off the bowling of
Dushmantha Chameera, caught at short third man while trying to guide the ball
over that fielder. "Not really. I was thinking to score runs. Wasn't
thinking of any particular target," he said when asked if a double century
was on his mind. "In all the formats, I don't look to get to a particular
milestone. My job is to go out there and score as many as possible. Not just
100s or 200s or 300s. I go out there to make sure I get my team into a good position.
My job is to do that. There are times when you don't get runs. There are times
when you get runs. This is all part and parcel of the game. Never do I ever
walk out thinking that I want to score a century or a double century. I just
want to give my best and get the team a victory."
What
Rohit does really well is use his hips to generate power when he's batting.
While trying to tee off, he starts by crouching more and then a subtle movement
of his left hip allows him to create all the power before the hands take over.
Add to that the beautiful bat swing he possesses, and you've got a complex
six hitting manual - one where muscle power is not on top of the list.
But
Rohit also went on to acknowledge that more than the technical aspect, it's
also the ability to play with the field which is of prime importance to him.
"I definitely don't have so much power. I rely a lot on timing the ball
more than anything else," he said.
"I
know what my strengths are as well as my weaknesses. I try to play with the
field as much as I can to be honest. The field is spread after six overs. I try
and see where I can find my boundary options. It's important to be able to play
with the field. I want to score all around the park and not just one particular
part of the ground. It's important to explore the fielding the opposition keeps
for me.
"In
all formats, I try to do that. You can't just hit in one area. You become
predictable then. It's always important to score runs all over the field and
that's my strength."
Rohit,
when set and scoring freely, is a different beast altogether. And, in his own
inimitable way, he's setting a benchmark for big hitting as well. Whether
that's matched is something one will have to wait and see, but Rohit is soon
reaching a level where he'll start being counted as a limited-overs great.
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