"It was going to happen that he will just smash the opposition into pieces" - Aakash Chopra lauds Rohit Sharma's knock in 1st Ind-Eng ODI
Aakash Chopra has lauded Rohit Sharma for playing the aggressor's role to perfection in the first ODI between Team India and England on Tuesday, July 12.
Rohit smashed an unbeaten 76 off just 58 balls, a knock studded with seven fours and five sixes. The Indian skipper's knock and his unbroken 114-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan helped the Men in Blue register an emphatic 10-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that a destructive knock from Rohit Sharma was around the corner, elaborating:
"When you score 110 runs, you expect magic or a miracle that your bowling will come and demolish the opposition batters but nothing like that happened. Rohit Sharma the aggressor, it was going to happen that he will just smash the opposition into pieces."
The former Indian opener highlighted that Rohit looked in decent touch even in the T20 games. Chopra observed:
"In all the knocks we saw in the T20s, we felt that Rohit is in form but the big knock was not coming. So that wait for the big innings ended with this knock."
Rohit scored a total of 66 runs across his three innings in the preceding T20I series against the same opponents. Although he did not play a substantial knock, he seemed to be at ease while he was in the middle.
"It is an amazing pair" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma's partnership with Shikhar Dhawan
Aakash Chopra added that Rohit's partnership with Dhawan put paid to any English hopes of making a comeback in the game. He explained:
"When Rohit and Dhawan got together, they hit decently. If wickets had fallen early, there might have been some butterflies in the stomach but Rohit Sharma the aggressor and Shikhar Dhawan was slightly the anchor. It is an amazing pair, extremely successful pair."
Most runs as opening pair in ODI history:
Ganguly & Tendulkar: 6609 runs
Hayden & Gilchrist: 5372 runs
Greenidge & Haynes: 5150 runs
Rohit & Dhawan: 5001 runs
While observing that Dhawan might not be in Team India's T20I scheme of things, the reputed commentator concluded by observing that the veteran opener cannot be ignored for ODIs. Chopra said:
"Unfortunately, Shikhar Dhawan is not playing T20Is and it is the T20 World Cup atmosphere, so everyone feels that you should forget Shikhar Dhawan, there wouldn't be greater injustice than that. The guy is doing well, so don't drop him till he is doing well."
Dhawan enjoys an exceptional record for Team India in ODI cricket. The southpaw has amassed 6315 runs at an excellent average of 45.76 in the 150 ODIs he has played to date and has averaged above 50 in each of the last three years.