Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his brilliant batting performance against Pakistan in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Sunday. The Indian captain played an aggressive knock to hit his second consecutive half-century in the continental event.
Rohit Sharma played a counter-attacking knock against Pakistan to hit his 50th ODI fifty in International Cricket and was dismissed for 56 runs by Shadab Khan failing to convert into a three-digit score. In the previous game against Nepal, the Indian skipper batted effectively as well, recording a match-winning half-century alongside young Shubman Gill.
Ravi Shastri, who is currently part of Star Sports, hailed Rohit Sharma for making use of the opportunity to score runs against the Pakistan pacers in the powerplay despite a brilliant spell for young Naseem Shah at the one end.
Shastri claimed that Rohit Sharma did not miss a single bad ball bowled by the Pakistan bowlers and was praised for showing intent from the beginning of the innings.
“There was a 10-ball phase from Naseem Shah at the start that beat him. He was trying to lay a bat on the ball but he could not. He went through that period and every time he got an opportunity today with anything remotely loose, he hit it over the boundary or to the boundary,” Ravi Shastri said.
“Rohit did not miss out on a single lose ball today, which showed that in spite of that good spell from the bowlers, the intent was that ‘anything lose, I’m going to hit it for a boundary or six’,” Ravi Shastri added.
The 36-year-old has found himself struggling against the left-arm fast bowlers in the big events but played well against Shaheen Afridi in the game, attacking him in the powerplay.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill formed an opening partnership of 121 runs before losing their wickets in quick succession, while Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tried to stabilize the innings before rain halted the day’s play in Colombo.
Rohit Sharma has been an exceptional performer for the team in the ODI format of the game over the last few years and would look to continue his fine batting going forward his form will be crucial for the Indian team’s success in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023, as the team will require him to be at his best going into the mega events as the Men in Blue will be desperate for the end their long-awaited ICC title drought.