From zero to hero: Rohit’s journey so far

India skipper Rohit Sharma during his 87 yesterday. Pic/PTI

From zero to hero, these four words sum up Rohit Sharma's batting journey in this World Cup. In the opening game against Australia, he had perished for a duck, but that was the only aberration, as he notched up one century, two fifties and two 40s in his subsequent five innings and has been largely instrumental in seeing India among the top two in the points table.

For the second time in six games, the Indian batters were caught on a sluggish pitch. In the opening game at Chennai against Australia, India struggled to overhaul a 200-run target after losing three quick wickets, including that of Rohit. Luckily the target was not steep then and Virat Kohli ensured there were no hiccups.

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On a similar pitch at the Ekana Stadium here, the Indian batters again found the going tough with the ball holding up a bit on the red soil pitch. If at Chennai it was chase master Kohli who took control, here it was Rohit who held the innings together after Kohli had departed without scoring, just like Rohit had fallen for a duck in Chennai. If India were able to post a decent total of 229 it was largely due to Rohit's laboured knock of 87 from 101 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes. During his innings, Rohit went past 1,000 runs in ODIs in the current calendar year and also completed 4,000 runs in international cricket as India captain.

Given the skillfull manner in which Rohit battled the much-improved England bowling, he richly deserved a century, having already scored a superb 131 against Bangladesh on a flat Kotla track in Delhi. But in trying to heave leg-spinner Adil Rashid over cow corner, he was well held by Liam Livingstone, who injured his knee in the process.

Barring the opening game, Rohit has been in prime form, and his superb starts have been largely responsible for India winning their first five games to become the prime contenders at this World Cup. This is the second time he has missed out on a hundred, adding to the one against Afghanistan. He had contributed 86 in Ahmedabad against Pakistan and looked set for a century on Sunday till he threw his hand away.

Rohit had hammered a century in a T20I in November 2018 in Lucknow against West Indies and everybody expected him to get another one. Though the full house was left disappointed, they applauded his superb effort on a difficult pitch all the way to the pavilion. It was a just praise for the Mumbaikar who was leading India in the 100th international game.