The efforts of Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in both Test matches versus England wowed everyone. Sharma, whose ability to play in foreign settings had been questioned, let out gently as his bat performed the job. Sharma, who came only 17 runs short of a century in the Lord’s Test, was understandably upset.
Former India captain, Sunil Gavaskar believes that a century at Lord’s is not all about. During the first innings, Rohit Sharma made 83 runs and shared a 100 stand with KL Rahul. He was on his approach to his first overseas Test century when he was removed by James Anderson.
Gavaskar told out that being able to stand on the Lord’s honors board isn’t always enough. He further claimed that if Rohit Sharma continues to score big runs like he is, a century is likely around the horizon.
This adjustment is mental and that is what Rohit accomplished: Gavaskar
“If you get a player who can guarantee score 80 runs, then in a five-Test series, he would end up with 400-450 runs. What else does a captain need? Yes, he would be disappointed not scoring a century, but getting a century at Lords isn’t everything,” Gavaskar said.
“You score a century at Trent Bridge or Leeds… if you score a century for India, in whichever part of the world that is what is important. And the way he is batting, the time he has, and the position in which he gets himself in, it feels as if a century is just around the corner,” Gavaskar added.
The hitters face a significant task when playing in English conditions. As a result, Gavaskar was blown away by Sharma’s ability to adapt his innings to the changing conditions. He added that Rohit handled the 1st hour of the game properly in order to have a better understanding of the pitch and give India a strong start.
“In a five-day Test match, no one has an idea as to how the pitch will behave on the first day – things like whether there is life on this pitch, will the ball bounce more? For that, you need some time and the adjustment Rohit Sharma showed in the first innings, how to do it. He did it brilliantly – what shots to play and what not. Just see how many balls he left, some of them close to the off stump. This adjustment is mental and that is what Rohit accomplished,” Gavaskar concluded.
