2nd ODI: Rohit Reflects on His Batting Strategy After Scoring 32nd Century

Cuttack, Feb 9 (NationPress) After finding his form just in time for the Champions Trophy with a brilliant 32nd ODI century during a four-wicket victory against England at the Barabati Stadium, Indian captain Rohit Sharma remarked that his impressive 119 was a result of dissecting his batting strategy into manageable parts while successfully chasing 305 runs.

Rohit’s outstanding innings of 119 from 90 balls featured 12 fours and seven sixes. Coupled with Shubman Gill’s 60, along with vital contributions from Shreyas Iyer (44) and Axar Patel (41 not out), India successfully chased down the target with 33 balls to spare, securing a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

“It was a great experience, and I truly enjoyed being out there, contributing runs for the team. It was a crucial match with the series on the line, but I meticulously broke down my batting approach. It is longer than T20s and shorter than Tests, and I focused on batting as deep as possible,” said Rohit.

“Analyzing the pitch - on black soil, it skids a bit, so I had to present the full face of the bat at first. Then they bowled into the body and kept it on the stumps, which is where I devised my strategy to find the gaps,” added Rohit, who was awarded the Player of the Match during the post-game presentation.

Prior to this game in Cuttack, concerns had been raised about Rohit’s recent performance and readiness for the upcoming Champions Trophy. However, his fifty came off just 30 balls, and he reached his century in a mere 76 balls, dispelling any doubts in spectacular fashion. Rohit acknowledged the significant support from Gill and Iyer while forming partnerships of 136 and 70 runs.

“I received excellent support from Gill and Shreyas. I enjoy batting alongside Gill; he is a very elegant player who remains unfazed by the pressure, and his statistics speak for themselves,” he remarked.

With Ravindra Jadeja shining with figures of 3-35 and Varun Chakravarthy making his debut with 1-54, Rohit emphasized the importance of bowling during the middle overs to keep the opposing batters under control.

“The middle overs are critical; they can swing the game significantly. If you can squeeze the middle overs, you need not worry excessively about the death overs. Middle overs are crucial, and even in Nagpur, we managed to apply pressure and take wickets. Consistent wicket-taking makes scoring runs challenging,” he explained.

With the final match in Ahmedabad rendered a dead rubber, Rohit stated that India’s aim would remain focused on overall improvement in all areas.

“We aim to continue enhancing our performance. There’s nothing specific we want to address, but overall growth as players and as a team is what we aspire to achieve. As long as everyone is clear about their roles and executes them, there isn’t much else to consider,” he concluded.