Sharma punishes Proteas
FIRST TEST: HOSTS HAVE FOUNDATION FOR HUGE SCORE
Rohit Sharma said opening the batting suited him across all formats after he hit a century yesterday in his new role in Test cricket against South Africa.
The 32-year-old Sharma – a star of India’s limited-overs side – made 115 on a rain-hit day one of the opening match as India reached 202 without loss in Visakhapatnam.
Sharma and Mayank Agarwal, on 84, made the South African bowlers toil after the hosts elected to bat first at the start of the three-match series.
“I think it suits my game,” Sharma told reporters. “Just wear the pads and go in to bat. I don’t like the waiting game.
“You know the bowlers who are bowling with the new ball, so the game plan is easier for you... At number six, the ball is reversing, field placement is different and you need to keep all those things in mind.”
A sudden thunderstorm forced the umpires to call tea early, and no further play was possible after heavy rain lashed the coastal city.
Sharma completed his fourth Test century in the second session with a single off debutant spinner Senuran Muthusamy.
He hit five sixes and 12 fours from 174 balls and showed frequent glimpses of the form that has made him such a feared oneday batsman.
“Opening the batting is a different ball game in red ball cricket. Of course mentally you have to train your mind more than anything else,” he said.
Agarwal, like Sharma, also used his feet to good effect against the spinners, who struggled on the batting-friendly pitch.
Playing his fifth Test since making his debut last year, Agarwal raised his fourth half-century with a six off Keshav Maharaj.
Both Sharma and Agarwal – who hit 11 fours and two sixes – took apart the opposition bowling in the second session of play as India scored 111 runs after taking lunch at 91/0. –