Follow UsIndian captain Rohit Sharma finally returned back to form, smashing a stroke-filled 90-ball 119 in the second One-Day International (ODI) against England in Cuttack on February 9 (Sunday). Chasing a target of 305, the opener slammed 12 fours and seven maximums and helped India win the game with more than five overs to spare. The Men in Blue now lead the three-match series 2-0.
Talking about his 32nd ODI century, also his second-fastest in the format, Rohit said: “It was good, really enjoyed being out there, scoring some runs for the team. Important game, series on the line. I broke it into pieces how I wanted to bat. It's a format that is longer than T20 cricket and a lot shorter than Tests. Still, you need to assess and bat according to the situation.
“I wanted to stay focused and bat as deep as possible. Looking at the pitch when you play on black soil, the pitch tends to skid on a bit so it's important that you show the full face of the bat. Then they were trying to bowl into the body and not give room so I prepared my plan as well. I accessed the gaps and obviously, I got good support from Shubman Gill and then Shreyas Iyer.”
Gill, who slammed 60 off 52 deliveries, added 136 runs for the opening wicket in 16.1 overs. This was Gill’s second fifty in as many game in this series. “We enjoy batting with each other, Gill is a very very classy player. I have seen him from close quarters and he doesn't get overawed by the situation. The numbers are there as well if I'm not wrong,” said Rohit.
The final ODI will be played in Ahmedabad on February 12 before India leave for Dubai for the 2025 Champions Trophy, starting on February 19. Rohit wants his team to keep getting better ahead of the 50-over event. “We want to keep getting better as a team.
“I said after the last match as well, we want to get better as a team and as players. As long guys are clear what they are supposed to do and whatever the captain and coach is saying, if they execute it then there's not much to think about.”
England captain Jos Buttler praised Rohit and said a target of somewhere around 350 would have given them a good chance of winning the game. “I thought we did a lot of things well, we got into a nice position with the bat. We needed someone to push on and get us to 350.
“Credit to Rohit, he batted superbly, he has been batting like this since a few years in ODI cricket. Wanted to get runs on the board, it skidded on a bit and the opposition also played well. We played the powerplay brilliant, we needed someone to kick on and a score around 330-350 would have been defendable.”