IND vs AUS 2017: Rohit Sharma Credits Fitness Routine for the Recent Success
Oct 3, 2017 at 12:57 PM
India defeated Australia in the five-match ODI series 4-1 and completely dominated the Kangaroos throughout.
Major credit for this success should be given to Indian openers who did the bulk of the scoring and gave stable platforms for the middle-order to come and capitalise. However, unlike the last series in India, this one was not a very high scoring. India avenged their series loss Down Under last year which they also lost 1-4.
In the first two matches, Rohit Sharma struggled to put some runs on the board scoring just 35 runs in both the matches. He scored seven runs at Eden Gardens which is believed to be his fortress.
However, the last three games were completely the opposite, as he amassed a few big totals in the next three matches. He scored a century in the final ODI (125) which was the first century by an Indian player in the series as well. Rohit was the leading highest run scorer in the series as he scored 296 runs.
Rohit who started his career as a middle-order batsman has enjoyed a rich vein of success opening the batting for India. He said,
“Ever since I started opening, I knew it was important that I get runs, The team really depends on the start that we give as openers. It’s really important, and it adds to our success. I have never thought that I have to do certain things. I just go out and try and enjoy the moment. That’s what I’ve been doing in the past few years, and in the future as well, it’s not going to change. I just have to go out and assess the conditions and see who the opposition is and plan accordingly.”
In the final ODI, he overcame cramps and credits his fitness routine for it. He said,
“Since I started opening, I knew that I would be on the ground for 100 overs, and the fitness routine has never changed,” he revealed. “You’ve got to understand your body really well. And we’ve got special people who give us the direction we need to go and understand the body. The fitness routine has been planned for each individual, and we try and stick to it. We know that over the next few years, it’s going to be quite a lot of games we have to play, and we have to understand and stick to that programme given to us.”
Indian bowlers bowled exceptionally well in the series, and Rohit believes it is their attitude which helps them get better of the batsmen.
“We’ve played in these conditions so many times, and they understand that our bowlers need to keep sticking to their strength. One boundary here and there doesn’t make a difference. That’s been their attitude throughout the tournament. We go out in the middle to take wickets, not look to get the strike-rate down. All the bowlers who participated in this tournament have gone with this mindset of taking wickets. When you’re doing that, you will obviously strike at some point during the game and pull the match back towards you. That is what these guys have done, all the spinners and the fast bowlers as well. All the compliments should go to them as well, the way they have bowled as a bowling unit throughout the tournament” he added.