Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised skipper Rohit Sharma and said that it is ‘impossible’ to bowl to him in the last four overs of a T20 match if he is on song. Rohit Sharma made a comeback in the shortest format for India in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Afghanistan where he led the team to a 3-0 win against the Afghans.
Rohit Sharma created history in Bengaluru as he smashed his fifth T20I century which is the most by anyone in the shortest format. He hammered a superb 121* off 69 balls against Afghanistan in the third T20I. The Indian skipper’s knock came after the Men in Blue were reduced to 22/4 batting first. The 36-year-old was under a bit of pressure after being dismissed for a duck in each of the first two T20Is.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin lauded Rohit Sharma’s incredible knock in the third T20I and said, “The most notable point of the match was Rohit’s innings was when the team was floating at 30/4, he buckled down and adapted to the situation and went nuts at the back end of the innings. I have said this before, it’s impossible to bowl to a set Rohit Sharma in the last four overs, whoever the bowler is.”
The veteran spinner added that Rohit Sharma has a complete book of shots to dominate the bowlers in the death overs in T20Is. He elaborated, “Length balls can be pulled. Towards the body, he can play the pick-up pull. If your short ball is sailing in front of the wicket, a little fuller and wider, you are going to see a loft over covers. If you miss the yorker, confirm six. Leave the Super Over in the third T20I, he hit sixes off Tim Southee in New Zealand and won a match for us casually.”
Rohit Sharma Needs Only 10 Sixes For Another Milestone In T20Is
Rohit smashed 11 fours and eight sixes during his innings of 121* in Bengaluru. He has now smoked 190 sixes in the T20Is and needs just 10 more sixes to become the first-ever player in history to hit 200 sixes in T20Is. While Rohit Sharma departed for a duck in each of the first two T20Is, Ravichandran Ashwin did not read too much into it. He pointed out that the Indian captain was run out in the first match and perished while starting to show some intent in the second.
“Rohit Sharma yet again proved why he is the boss. He has arrived in the same mode that he played in the ODI World Cup. He got two ducks, one of which was a runout, and one showed intent for the team. He yet again played for the team and got a century to his name. Rohit Sharma is there to watch out for,” Ashwin concluded.
The three-match T20 series against Afghanistan marked the comeback of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20Is. Before this series, both played their last T20I in 2022 during the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup against England. The Indian team will now focus on red-ball cricket as they will face England in a five-match Test series starting on January 25.
