Alastair Cook couldn’t stop praising Rohit Sharma after his hundred in Rajkot.
The former England skipper had made a remark as well on Rohit, saying that the Indian captain didn’t look a guy out of form and was hungry to make a contribution to his side.
He would be quoted by Sky Sports hailing the knock by Rohit as a captain’s knock at a time when India needed someone to stand up and deliver. The former England skipper also felt Rohit was an unhurried batter and is a pleasure to watch because of his simple technique.
“It was a captain’s knock from a guy who hadn’t scored any runs in the series. India needed someone to stand up and he delivered.”
“He is such an unhurried batsman, someone who has so much time. He is a pleasure to watch as his technique is so simple.”
“He hits pure shots, he doesn’t crud it or inside edge it like me,” said Cook.
IND vs ENG, 3rd Test: Day one Report
Rohit wasn’t having the best of times in the series against England as he had failed with the bat in the first two matches. The opener had scored just 90 runs in 4 innings coming into the Rajkot Test and with the series evenly poised.
The critics were after Rohit for his batting as well as his captaincy and the Indian skipper was looking for a way to come into form.
But India really needed their captain on February 15, as the top order fell down like a pack of cards. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar were back in the pavilion soon with the hosts at 33 for 3.
Rohit also had some close shaves early on, as he was dropped on 27 by Joe Root. Luck was also with the Indian skipper it terms of the DRS as well and he cashed in on to score his 11th Test hundred, which was also his 8th as an opener.
It seems like whenever the form of Rohit is questioned his response is to score a hundred. Let’s take your memory back to the India vs Afghanistan T20I series that happened in January this year.
Rohit was dismissed for back-to-back ducks in the first two games. Even though India won the matches, Rohit’s form was questioned, especially with the T20 World Cup on the horizon.
The third game in Bengaluru saw Rohit come into the form, especially with India in a similar situation as they were in Rajkot on Thursday. India were 22 for four and struggling when Rohit and Rinku Singh powered India to a mammoth 212 in 20 overs.
The Indian skipper scored his 5th T20I hundred on the day, as India would win the match via a super over.
This seems like a habit being created by Rohit and it is one that the fans would love to see him continue. History shows that once the Indian opener gets a big score under his belt, he just becomes unstoppable in the end and starts getting consistency on his side.
With the T20 World Cup captaincy debate now over, Rohit does have a lot of responsibility lined up ahead of him as he looks to lead a young team both in the ongoing series and in the ICC event in June.
