“Impossible to bowl to a set Rohit Sharma in the last four overs” - Ravichandran Ashwin
Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has extolled skipper Rohit Sharma, saying that it is ‘impossible’ to bowl to him in the last four overs of a T20I if he is set.
Rohit hammered a superb 121* off 69 balls against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in the third T20I of the three-match series. The Indian captain’s knock came after they were reduced to 22/4 batting first. The 36-year-old was under a bit of pressure, having been dismissed without scoring in the first two T20Is.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin hailed Rohit’s incredible knock in the third T20I and said:
“The most notable point of the match was Rohit’s innings was, when the team was floating at 30/4, he buckled down and adapted to the situation and went nuts at the back end of the innings. I have said this before, it’s impossible to bowl to a set Rohit Sharma in the last four overs, whoever the bowler is.”
The seasoned bowler added that Rohit has all the strokes in the book to dominate bowlers at the death in T20Is. He elaborated:
“Length balls can be pulled. Towards the body, he can play the pick-up pull. If your short ball is sailing in front of the wicket, a little fuller and wider, you are going to see a loft over covers. If you miss the yorker, confirm six. Leave the Super Over in the third T20I, he hit sixes off Tim Southee in New Zealand and won a match for us casually.”
Rohit hammered 11 fours and eight sixes in his 121* in Bengaluru, thus becoming the first batter to smash five tons in T20Is.
“He yet again played for the team” - Ashwin praises Rohit for leading from the front
While Rohit was dismissed without scoring in the first two matches of the series, Ashwin did not read too much into it. He pointed out that the Indian captain was run out in the first match and perished while starting to show some intent in the second.
“Rohit Sharma yet again proved why he is the boss. He has arrived in the same mode that he played the ODI World Cup. He got two ducks, one of which was a run out, and one showed intent for the team. He yet again played for the team and got a century to his name. Rohit Sharma is there to watch out for,” Ashwin concluded.
The series against Afghanistan marked Rohit and Virat Kohli’s comeback to the T20I format. Before this series, they last turned out for India in T20Is during the 2022 World Cup in Australia.