New Delhi [India], October 23 (ANI): Former Team India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on Thursday praised opener Rohit Sharma’s fighting spirit during Men in Blue’s innings against Australia, highlighting the player’s resilience and ability to make the most of challenging conditions.
Rohit played a stellar 73-run knock, which came off 97 balls, and included seven boundaries and two maximums. India lost the second ODI and the series.
“As a player, you might forget some of your big hundreds or double centuries, but there are certain knocks that stay with you, especially the ones where you’ve had to fight hard. Rohit Sharma may not remember this innings for the runs he scored, but knowing him personally, he’ll take great satisfaction from it. As a batter, when you make runs in tough conditions, it gives you a different kind of joy, much like a bowler getting wickets on a flat pitch,” Abhishek Nayar, JioStar expert, told ‘Cricket Live’
“Rohit might be disappointed for not converting it into a big score, but deep down, he’ll know he worked hard for every run today. His resilience stood out. That’s what impressed me the most about this Indian team today: their resilience. Even when it looked like Australia would cruise to victory, they kept fighting. And Rohit embodied that spirit. Despite being constantly tested, whenever he got a loose delivery, he made the most of it. That intent, combined with grit, defined his innings,” he added.
Australia edged past India in a thrilling contest at Adelaide Oval, clinching a two-wicket win to seal the ODI series 2-0 with one game still to play. Rohit Sharma’s 73 and Shreyas Iyer’s 61 guided India to a competitive 264, but knocks from Matthew Short and Cooper Connolly powered Australia home in a tense finish.
JioStar expert Varun Aaron analysed India’s performance in the match.
“I think there’s never just one reason why a team loses. The way Josh Hazlewood bowled was outstanding. He simply didn’t give away anything with the new ball. India couldn’t get off to a quick start, and then they struggled to build partnerships. If you compare the two sides, Australia had three 50-plus partnerships and even a 30-run stand at the top, while India only managed a 100-run partnership and couldn’t cross 50 in any other. The Aussies kept building through the innings and always stayed in the game. There was also a small phase where India leaked too many runs. They should have bowled Washington Sundar more to Connolly, and Harshit Rana’s short spell, nearly 40 runs in three overs, really hurt India’s momentum. That’s where the game slipped away,” he told ‘Cricket Live’ (ANI)
