Rohit Sharma, India opener on Thursday defended playing the pull shot that led to his dismissal on 36 in the first Test against England, saying if he sees the ball in his areas, he “has to play his shots”.
A well-set Rohit Sharma was caught by Sam Curran on the fence off Ollie Robinson, playing his trademark pull shot.
Rohit Sharma Maintained He Has To Play Shots And Take Odd Chances
After a solid start once again, India opener Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the 30s after the team got off to a great start. He along with KL Rahul stitched a partnership of 97 and put India in the driver’s seat. But Rohit Sharma perished just moments before lunch that started a mini-collapse. At the end of the day’s play, India was 125/4 as rain and bad light halted 2nd day’s play.
“Like you said it is my shot, so I have to play shots, as we saw in the first hour of play, we did not get any loose balls and their bowlers were quite disciplined,” Rohit said at the post-day press conference after the second day’s play, which was called off early due to rain.
Rohit Sharma maintained that odd chances needed to be taken.
“So, you have to take your odd chances when the ball is there, you got to punish them. Of course, you know, when it’s around the time of close of play, you feel disappointed and that is what I am feeling about it (the dismissal),” he added.
India ended the day at 125/4 as veteran English pacer James Anderson (2/15) wreaked havoc with his fiery spell. They are still adrift by 58 runs. England in their first essay was bowled out for a meagre 183.
“But you got to be ready to play your shots as well because their bowlers are so disciplined, you hardly get anything.
“So, you got to put the balls which are your shots and in your area, you got to put that ball away and that is what me and KL (Rahul) did when we were batting, we were on that thought process. If feel like taking a couple of shots on, we are not going to shy away from that, we will play those shots.
“While doing that if you get out; I mean yes you feel disappointed, but you know there is very thin line between getting out like that and that same delivery or same ball, if it… the catch was slightly away or five yards left and right of the fielder, it could have been either way as well.”
Though disappointed, Rohit Sharma talked about the importance of staying positive. He went on to say that he had to look for opportunities to score when the runs were hard to come by. KL Rahul, playing due to injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, marked his Test comeback with a fine half-century and finished the day unbeaten on 57, having added 48 runs to his overnight score of 9.
James Anderson Picked 2 Scalps Including That Of Virat Kohli
The openers shared a 97-run stand before the mini-collapse happened. The wily old James Anderson once again got his “bunny” Virat Kohli in a mesmerising spell that undid India’s solid opening stand to leave them tottering at 125 for 4 against England on a rain-curtailed Day 2 of the opening Test. James Anderson (2/15) swung it in England’s favour with successive precision
“You got to think positive and that’s what my mindset was. I know it was around lunch time but if I see the ball in my area, I have to play the shots,” Rohit added.
According to Rohit Sharma, the form of the middle order was not a concern. India collapsed from 97 for no loss to 112/4. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara (4), Ajinkya Rahane (5) and Virat Kohli (0) failed.