"I would like to appreciate Rohit Sharma for the patience he showed" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh has lauded Rohit Sharma for batting patiently in India's first innings of the final Test against England.
The Indian opener scored a resolute 49 runs off 144 deliveries and held one end up when wickets were falling at the other end.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman shared their views on Rohit Sharma's disciplined knock.
"It was a different kind of innings from him. I would like to appreciate Rohit Sharma for the patience he showed. He understood his responsibility very well because wickets were falling at the other end and played shots after taking calculative risks," said Harbhajan Singh.
The Turbanator pointed out that Rohit Sharma batted responsibly and was unfortunate to be dismissed a run short of his half-century.
"He took three times the number of balls he usually takes to score these runs and it shows that when he had the reponsibility to play a knock like that, he did that. Unfortunately, he missed out on getting a fifty but I think he played really well," added the former Indian spinner.
"Rohit Sharma can perform as an opener even on overseas surfaces" - VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman observed Rohit Sharma showed due respect to the immaculate lines and lengths bowled by the English seamers.
"It was an excellent knock. There is no problem if you give respect to good balls. The England bowlers bowled perfect lines and lengths and did not give too many opportunities to Rohit Sharma. He was letting the ball come close to the body and playing underneath the eyes," said Laxman.
The former Indian batsman signed off by stating that performances like these give him the confidence that Rohit Sharma can be a successful opener even in overseas conditions.
"When Rohit Sharma plays like this, I have the belief that he can perform as an opener even on overseas surfaces. We know that once Rohit Sharma is set, he has the ability to convert his starts into big scores, although he did not do that today. You need to bat differently as an opener, good bowlers will not allow you to bat in just one fashion," concluded Laxman.
Rohit Sharma was the only Indian top-order batsman who looked comfortable in the middle. However, he was undone by a big inswinger from Ben Stokes.
Rohit was perhaps a touch unlucky that the LBW decision was not overturned, with both the impact and the ball hitting the wickets coming under "umpire's call".