[Watch] Rohit Sharma goes for 131 off another short ball by Mark Wood on Day 1 of 3rd IND vs ENG Test
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma holed out to his counterpart Ben Stokes after a brilliant hundred in the third Test in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.
Rohit batted with great intent to bail the team out from 33/3 after electing to bat first. He found an able partner in Ravindra Jadeja and the duo added 204 runs for the fourth wicket.
The Indian skipper adopted a cautious approach, refraining from playing his favorite hook shot despite being tempted by Mark Wood with short deliveries. He was eventually undone by a bouncer, a ploy that Stokes and Wood persisted on for long.
The ball was banged in by the tearaway pacer and Rohit went with the pull shot. The ball hurried onto him and the right-hander couldn't get his timing right. Rohit Sharma eventually holed out to Stokes at mid-wicket and the England camp was mighty pleased that their plan paid off.
Watch the clip here:
It was a knock of the highest order from Rohit Sharma given the situation of the game. He smacked 14 boundaries and three sixes for his 131 runs off 196 balls.
The dismissal brought debutant Sarfaraz Khan in the middle alongside Ravindra Jadeja, who is going strong at the other hand.
"He did everything right" - Anil Kumble praises Rohit Sharma
Former India head coach Anil Kumble spoke highly of Rohit for his superlative knock on Day 1 of the third Test. The celebrated leg-spinner praised how the Men in Blue skipper negotiated the hostile spell from Mark Wood initially before capitalizing on the start.
“He was stepping out and looking to go over the top. He did everything right, he rode the tough phase against Mark Wood. England had set a plan for Mark Wood with three fielders on the ropes so obviously Rohit did not take the bait of going for the hook. So he had to ride that over off and there was one ball that was really steep and hit him on the helmet," Anil Kumble said on Sports 18 during the lunch break.
"But he was brilliant with handling all the bowlers," he continued. "Even the spinners, I thought he did really well. He made that mistake of going across but immediately corrected that in the next over when he stepped out and hit Hartley over his head. He has read the surface well, he's read the balls well and understands what the bowlers are doing."