Adelaide: Rohit Sharma mixed a lot of grit with some grace to score a potentially career-extending 73 on a spicy track that formed the cornerstone of India’s decent total of 264 for 9 against Australia in the second ODI here Thursday.
Courtesy Rohit’s 97-ball knock and his 118-run stand for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer (61 off 77 balls), India managed a fighting total after losing skipper Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) in quick succession.
Towards the back-end, Axar Patel (44 off 41 balls) did what Ravindra Jadeja has been doing for the Test team. His innings and a stand of 39 with a gutsy Washington Sundar (12) gave the bowlers something to bowl at.
Harshit Rana (24 not out) and Arshdeep Singh (13) added 37 off 29 balls for the ninth wicket to take the team score past the 260-run mark.
For Australia, Adam Zampa, back after attending the birth of his second baby, got 4 for 60 with most of the batters getting dismissed trying to attack him. Xavier Bartlett (3/39 in 10 overs), with the prized scalp of Kohli and a maiden over, also stood out.
However, the Indian innings was about Rohit’s determination as he had to survive a lot of anxious moments in the Powerplay when Josh Hazlewood (0/29 in 10 overs, including two maidens) made the ball talk.
There was a point when Rohit had played 17 consecutive dot balls off Hazlewood and both him and Iyer looked overtly cautious due to the underlying moisture and lateral movement.
In case of Kohli, he was shaping for an outswinger but Bartlett got one to move in sharply after pitching and the maestro was caught plumb in front.
While leaving the ground, he acknowledged the fans at Adelaide, a venue where he has scored multiple Test hundreds and a World Cup century against Pakistan.
For Rohit, the first 50-odd balls were about consolidation and keeping the bat close to his body, trying to leave the deliveries on the length and taking a few on the body.
The only positive shot in that phase was a flicked boundary over square leg off Mitchell Starc.
The first time one got a glimpse of vintage Rohit was when he played back-to-back customary pick-up pulls off Mitchell Owen’s friendly medium pacers.
India got 17 from that over and with Iyer also rotating the strike with an upright stance, the scoreboard suddenly saw movement and momentum.
The innings was, however, far from being silken smooth.
It was about a veteran, who wanted to make his naysayers eat humble pie. He was ready to grind it out and look ugly initially before eventually opening up.
The 2027 World Cup is far away but what Rohit intended to prove was that there is still some fuel left in the tank. Once the initial phase was negotiated, Rohit didn’t look in any kind of discomfort.
There was enough time for a 33rd ODI hundred but the swivel off his hips while trying to deposit Starc over the square leg boundary became his undoing.
While Rohit got much-needed breathing space, Kohli continued to be under pressure and left the ground raising his fist for the Adelaide spectators who probably saw the last of him.
It is not the first time that Kohli scored consecutive ducks but it seems that the intensity that added to his legend has diminished considerably. India had lost the opening match of the three-game series by seven wickets in Perth.
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