Rohit Sharma Ne Maar Maar Ke Bharta Nikal Dia, Says Shoaib Akhtar After India Opener's Ton In Bengaluru

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar lavished praise on Rohit Sharma after the India opener’s stunning ton against Australia in the Bengaluru ODI on Sunday. After failing to do well in the first two games of the series, Rohit Sharma delivered when India needed him the most. India were in dire need of a good innings from Rohit Sharma after in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan could not come out to bat due to a shoulder injury.

KL Rahul was promoted as an opener but the in-form batsman failed to get going this time around and was out for just 19. But before Australia could make further inroads in the game, Rohit Sharma took charge of the innings. He and skipper Virat Kohli batted Australia out of the match by sharing a century-plus stand.

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India went on to win the game by seven wickets while chasing 287 and sealed the series 2-1 after losing the first game. Rohit Sharma scored 119 with the help of eight fours and six sixes. And soon after the game ended, Shoaib Akhtar released a video on his YouTube channel in praise of the India batting mainstay.

“When Rohit is on song then he doesn’t care whether the ball is good or bad because he has so much of time, he has so much of elegance when he plays the shots. It (batting) comes very easy and naturally to him,” said Shoaib Akhtar.

Akhtar further stated that Rohit’s ability to upper cut fast deliveries reminded him of that famous shot played by Sachin Tendulkar when India and Pakistan played in the 2003 ODI World Cup. Sachin had famously cut Akhtar for a six over third man.

“You saw his ruthlessness today. Usne maar maar k bharta nikal dia. He hit Mitchell Starc, he went after Cummins. The cut shot that he hit reminded me of Tendulkar’s six,” said Akhtar.

Here is the video posted by Shoaib Akhtar on his YouTube channel: