Red ball punished like white
Rohit Sharma hits his first century on the road eight years since debut to take India to a position of strength
MUMBAI: There was never a doubt about Rohit Sharma’s talent. For a batsman blessed with so many sublime shots, the doubt was whether he could curb his attacking instincts to play the patient game required in the longer format.
It’s no surprise that he didn’t find it easy. After making his Test debut in 2013 the journey has been tortuous. Every failure in overseas conditions, starting with the 2013-14 tour of South Africa, brought up the same question—whether he had it in him to succeed in red-ball cricket.
Remarkably, the player himself never stopped believing. On Saturday, at the age of 34, putting years of frustration behind him, he could finally claim that he has silenced all doubts about his Test game.
Even though before this series the Mumbai player had seven hundreds, the real test for a subcontinent batsman is in conditions when the ball is moving around. In England when play is on under cloud cover, facing the new ball gets even tougher.
With your team facing a 99-run deficit and the series locked 1-1, the challenge doubles. It was the stuff of dreams— Sharma chose the toughest stage to register his first-ever overseas hundred.
The century at The Oval on the third day of the fourth Test was a re-affirmation that he has at last conquered the final frontier for any batsman. Having given all the time to the bowlers, he got to the three-figure mark in some style—down the track to lift spinner Moeen Ali high and handsome into the stands.
In the official broadcaster’s commentary studio, India’s greatest opener Sunil Gavaskar said the knock of 127 (256 balls, 14 fours, 1 six) was the passing of the litmus test. “It is a breakthrough moment because you tell yourself “I can do it”. To do it in England, where the ball is swinging, there is a little more carry, would mean a lot to him,” said Gavaskar.
“It is how the Test match innings has to be built. The biggest challenge of such genius
players is they have different options (scoring shots) for the same delivery, they have to curb them. (He did) what was needed for the occasion, that is the breakthrough,” added the former India captain, who has a 221 at The Oval.
Sharma had 40 international centuries before the Oval Test, but he will savour this 127 the most.
In batting, the feature of this series has been the opening partnership Sharma has formed with KL Rahul. That the two have been the top run-getters for the team this series says it all. The second innings saw them provide another solid start. They helped the team win the crucial opening session by wiping off 83 of England’s first innings lead of 99 runs to put pressure back on the home team.
To the delight of the Indian fans, the usually dour Cheteshwar Pujara came out attacking.
Off to a brisk start, he took the pressure off Sharma. The two took the lead to 137 before falling in quick succession in the first over with the second new ball. In their 153-run association, Pujara contributed a fluent 61 and Sharma 91.
With Virat Kohli hitting four crisp fours to be unbeaten on 22, taking the lead to 171 runs, India are well on the way to take complete control of the game. India were 270/3 when bad light ended England’s misery.
Masterstroke
The success of this Indian team has been built on some smart planning. One of the decisions skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri took was to get Sharma to open the innings in 2019. It has proved a masterstroke.
What is most impressive is that at this late stage in his career, Sharma took up the challenge to reinvent his game and
adapt to the role. He started with three hundreds (including a double) in his first four innings. Amidst doubts over his ability to do the job on the bouncy pitches of Australia (2020-21 series), he made the pace of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc look pedestrian in the Sydney and Brisbane Tests. In his first two innings in this series, Sharma confidently saw off the new ball to prove he had no technical issues against the moving ball.
The next challenge was to build on the starts he was getting. Sharma ticked that box on the opening day of the Lord’s Test, notching his highest score away from home with a stylish 83. He was done in by a peach of a delivery from James Anderson. It was clear it was only a matter of time before the hundred was in the kitty.
His innings at Oval was an epitome of concentration and patience. The template of a Test
match opener in seaming conditions was being mastered. Defending balls with a still bat, he was content to wait long periods for his boundary. He hit a boundary in the first over of the third day, showing the high elbow to Anderson for a lovely straight drive. The stroke cut India’s deficit to 50 runs.
According to Cricviz Analyst, what has stood out is how Sharma has become outstanding against full-pitched deliveries. Since the start of the Australia series, he averages 110 against full-pitched pace in away Tests.
The gameplan was on full view, and the clarity in his shot selection. He mainly went for runs when the ball was really full. The second four of the morning, the fourth of his innings, was hit when Anderson returned for his second spell. The gap between the two boundaries was more than 21 overs, off the 118th ball he faced. With the
four runs he moved to 42 and India’s deficit was down to five runs. Rahul was out by then, having hit six fours and a six for 46, the partnership broken by Anderson with a gem of a ball.
It was three-and-a-half hours of hard work to reach his fifty off 145 balls. The opener was a touch lucky in this innings. He was dropped twice. Rory Burns was the culprit both times. After an edge off Anderson went abegging on the second evening in the slip cordon, Ollie Robinson was the bowler to suffer when a diving Burns couldn’t hold on to the catch offered by Sharma on 31.
With the platform set for the team, Sharma took just 59 balls for his second fifty. When he touched 80, he crossed 3,000 runs in his 43rd Test.
Brief scores: India 191 and 270/3 (Rohit Sharma 127, Cheteshwar Pujara 61, Ollie Robinson 2-67); England 290.