Gros Islet [St Lucia], June 24 (ANI): India batter Suryakumar Yadav who witnessed Rohit Sharma’s blitzkrieg against Australia at St Lucia from the other end feels it was like a dream.
In the clash between the two juggernauts in the Super 8 of the ongoing T20 World Cup, Rohit’s 41-ball, 92 caught Australia in a whirlwind that they couldn’t deal with despite a star-studded bowling line-up.
After Rishabh Pant’s dismissal in the 8th over, Suryakumar had the opportunity to witness the carnage that Rohit spread for the next three overs from the other end.
“Felt like a dream (watching Rohit Sharma bat), he batted beautifully. We sat together and talked about it before the game and he (Rohit) showed us the way,” Suryakumar said during the mid-innings interaction.
Rohit looked on a hunt to take revenge for the heartbreak that the Indian team suffered in the ODI World Cup final at the hands of Australia last year.
A knock soothing to the eyes, Rohit struck 92 off a mere 41 deliveries which is the highest score for the veteran skipper in the tournament history. His rampant knock is also the highest individual score in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
The highlight of Rohit’s knock was leaving Mitchell Starc speechless in the third over by amassing 29 runs. After Virat Kohli went back for a five-ball duck, Rohit went berserk in the third over and took on Australia’s ace, Mitchell Starc. On the first delivery, he launched the ball over the covers to set the tone. He effortlessly cleared the boundary on the second ball, leaving Starc clueless in the process.
On the third ball, he slammed the ball down the ground to pick up a four. He tonked the third six into the crowd over deep midwicket on a delivery that clocked 144kph.
Starc found a moment of reprieve after pulling off a dot ball on the fifth delivery. Starc and Australia’s woes increased after he bowled a wide on the final delivery. The left-arm pacer went for a yorker to finish off the over, but he couldn’t nail it and bowled a full toss. Rohit had a full swing at it and the ball sailed over third man for another six. Starc’s scorching yorker brought an end to Rohit’s flamboyant innings. (ANI)
