"Bad shot" - Harbhajan Singh criticizes Rohit Sharma's dismissal on Day 4 of the WTC final
Harbhajan Singh has criticized Rohit Sharma's shot selection that led to his dismissal in India's second innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Rohit scored 43 runs before he was trapped leg-before-wicket by Nathan Lyon on Day 4 at The Oval in London on Saturday, June 10. India finished the day at 164/3 in pursuit of a mammoth 444-run fourth-innings target.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about Rohit falling prey to Lyon's around-the-wicket trap, to which he responded:
"He went around the wicket so that he can get bowled and lbw into play. There is no rough created for him on the pitch. So he will have to bowl within the stumps. When you bowl within the stumps, you are the happiest when someone sweeps you from that angle, because anything you miss, you can be given out."
The former Indian spinner added:
"Rohit Sharma got trapped by Nathan Lyon's thinking. The only way he could have got out was by playing the sweep shot. If he had looked for singles and doubles, there isn't that much spin or bounce that could have troubled you. Bad shot in my opinion. You just had to occupy the crease which he was already doing."
Rohit added 51 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara for the second wicket after Shubman Gill was given out caught controversially. The Indian skipper was caught plumb in front of the wickets while trying to paddle the second delivery he faced from Lyon.
"It is a big thing to score 5 runs an over in Test cricket" - Harbhajan Singh lauds Rohit Sharma's knock
Harbhajan Singh was also asked about the intent Rohit Sharma showed during his innings, to which he replied:
"Very good, they were scoring at five runs an over until Rohit was batting. It is a big thing to score five runs an over in Test cricket. We are seeing 164 runs on the scoreboard because of the first 95 runs India scored."
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons India would have had an even chance to win the match had Rohit been unbeaten alongside Virat Kohli:
"Till the time he was at the crease, it didn't seem like the opposition had a chance. He got out to the only bad shot he played. This is the best we have seen him bat in the last two-and-a-half to three months. If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had been batting, I would have said that this match is 50-50."
Harbhajan pointed out that Australia wouldn't have slept peacefully if India had lost one fewer wicket. However, he added that India can still spring a surprise, as they did at the Gabba.