'Where He Gets Into Trouble Is...': Sunil Gavaskar On Rohit Sharma's Terrific Knock In Nagpur T20I
Published - 24 Sep 2022, 01:05 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 09:16 AM
Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 46 and Axar Patel took two wickets as India beat Australia by six wickets in the second T20I at the Nagpur Cricket Stadium on Friday, September 23 and the hosts levelled the 3-match T20I series.
Australia asked to bat first after a delay of almost two-and-a-half hours, Matthew Wade scored 43 off 20 balls and captain Aaron Finch scored 31 off 15 balls guiding Australia to 90/5 in the eighth overs-per-side contest.
The Indian skipper smashed four fours and four sixes, scoring 46 runs off 20 balls to help India chase down the target of 91 with four balls to spare. Sunil Gavaskar criticized the batsman in the first T20I of the series, advising him to stay longer in the innings and not force hits from the start.
Rohit Sharma Wasn’t Going Bang Straight Away – Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking to official broadcaster Star Sports, Gavaskar said that Rohit’s measured approach helped his case in the second T20I when he stuck to his skills rather than forcing something different out of him.
“What you saw with Rohit today was a measured approach. It wasn’t anything where he was looking to defend, but he was being a lot more selective. And look, when he is playing those flick shots or the swivel pull shots, he is very good at that.
“Where he gets into trouble is where he is looking to play on the off-side, just tonks it up like that, that’s where he hits the ball up in the air rather than into the stands. That’s the only thing that he is going to watch out for,” Sunil Gavaskar said after the commencement of the second T20I in Nagpur.
India’s top order has not batted in unison for some time, with Rohit Sharma falling the victim to his own attacking style. India lost the rest of the top order, while the batsmen stood like a pillar at one end.
“Otherwise, when he is hitting it in his range, he has got absolutely no problems at all. That’s what he should be looking to do. Today was such a measured innings. He was waiting, cutting the ball, pulling, he was not going bang straight away. That is the reason why he batted so brilliantly,” Gavaskar explained.
India levelled the series at 1-1 with a 6-wicket win against Australia in the 2nd T20I, and the series-deciding 3rd T20I will be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday, September 25.
