In the third one-day international between India and New Zealand, played in Indore, Rohit Sharma notched his 30th ODI century—his first in three years. The India captain, however, does not think that this number accurately depicts the situation.
Even though Rohit Sharma didn’t play many 50-over matches during that time, the broadcaster nonetheless showed his century in the third ODI against New Zealand as his first in “three years.” In the third game against New Zealand on Tuesday, Rohit pulled away to deep square to reach his 30th ODI century. The presenter flashed the fact that it was the first time the Indian captain had scored a century since January 2020. Even if the number is accurate, Rohit did not think it gave a complete picture.
“I’ve only played 12 (17) ODIs in the last three years, so I doubt I’ll score my first hundred in that time. Rohit told reporters after the game, “Three years sounds a lot.”
You people should be aware of the situation. I’m aware that it aired, but he argued, “The broadcasters should present the accurate picture” (Kabhi Kabhi Woh cheez bhi dhyan dena chahiye, broadcaster ko Bhi Sahi cheez dikhana chahiye).
Rohit, who smashed nine fours and six sixes in India’s 90-run triumph, was asked by a journalist if it was the return of the ‘Hitman,’ a nickname for him. Rohit replied, “As I said, there were no matches in 2020.” Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, everyone stayed inside. You have to put that into context with the fact that we played so few One-Day Internationals and that I was injured and only played in two Tests throughout that time.
As recently as a year ago, we were engaged in Twenty20 cricket. Suryakumar Yadav is currently the best batsman in Twenty20 cricket. To my knowledge, no one else has ever scored two hundred, but he did it. Shardul Thakur’s second stint, in which he took three wickets (Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, and Glenn Phillips), completely altered the course of the game.
He always seems to take wickets for us when it counts. It has happened in both one-day internationals and Tests. Where we stand as a team is directly tied to his contributions.
I think he’s going to be a great asset to the squad if he keeps putting in performances like this, and I hope that knowing he can come in and take wickets gives him the confidence to do so.
A lot of domestic cricket experience has made him wise in the ways of the game. He spilled the beans on the scheme to get rid of New Zealand captain Tom Latham hatched by Shardul, Hardik Pandya, and Virat Kohli.
This format requires expertise, and Shardul clearly possesses them. Today (Tuesday), he delivered a fantastic knuckleball to Tom Latham, which Virat, Hardik, and Shardul nicely prepared in the middle. The young Shubman Gill, who scored the most runs in the series, received high accolades from the captain.
“I don’t think much needs to be said, given how he batted in the series. He has great game knowledge and knows how to manage his inning lengths to get the desired outcome of a large, long game.
A score of 200 is not simple to achieve, regardless of how to level the pitch may be. He is very strategic, as evidenced by the fact that the next-best score in that game (the first ODI) was 34. Great maturity has set into him. India moved up to first place in the ODI standings thanks to the victory, but Rohit didn’t seem very excited about the achievement.
In all candor, position and status mean nothing. We were ranked #4 going into this series. Considering that we didn’t drop a single series all of last season, I can’t fathom how we finished in fourth place.
We don’t take it seriously enough, instead save our energy for the major competitions. It is important to us to be well-prepared for any eventuality. The cumulative effect of these series is reassuring.
