Perth [Australia], October 19 (ANI): Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar decoded the dismissal of Rohit Sharma and identified that aggression, a forte of the veteran swashbuckler, was his undoing in the first ODI against Australia in Perth at the Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Perth played host to Rohit and Virat Kohli’s return to international cricket for the first time since the Champions Trophy final on March 9. Fans and former cricketers felt the Indian batting behemoths would feature in India’s tour of England in June. However, to everyone’s surprise, the duo pulled the curtains down on their respective careers more than a month before the commencement of the series.
On Sunday, after India was put to bat by Australia, Rohit, in his 500th international game, opened alongside Gill, and fans eagerly waited for him to recreate his selfless heroics. However, hopes of seeing fireworks from his bat soon started to fade when, on the final ball of the opening over, he went for an audacious across-the-line shot off Mitchell Starc, but the ball beat his inside edge.
Rohit took his revenge on Starc in the next over with a straight drive to drill the ball for a four. However, he perished against Josh Hazlewood, after being outdone by the extra bounce and the nibbling away delivery. Rohit had a peek at it and gave away an outside edge to second slip and returned on 8(14).
Nayar, who worked with Rohit closely last year, pointed out that the shots Rohit had in his mind were not ideal to execute in the overcast conditions in Perth. Nayar hopes Rohit will reflect on his outing, but doesn’t expect the former skipper to tweak his approach in the remaining two fixtures.
“Initially, Rohit Sharma took his time, but he tried to do what he’s done so well in ODI cricket over the past two years, play with intent and be aggressive. In many ways, though, that was also his undoing, as these weren’t the ideal conditions for the kind of shots he had in mind. I’m sure he’ll reflect on this, but I don’t see any change in his approach going forward; he’s going to stay aggressive,” Nayar said on JioHotstar.
The 38-year-old lasted for 14 deliveries on the crease, and Nayar observed that the seasoned star appeared technically sound in terms of flow and balance. One area of improvement that Nayar felt came down to Rohit’s shot selection.
“Hopefully, the conditions will be different in Adelaide, but in this game, he looked in good flow. His balance and weight transfer were solid. Perhaps the shot selection could have been better, but it was a very good delivery that dismissed him. His intent was there. In white-ball cricket, when you get out to a ball like that at second slip, sometimes you have to take it on the chin and move on. With all the experience he’s gained over the years, I’m confident he’ll dig deeper and come back stronger next time around,” he added.
Coming to the fixture, India’s innings was interrupted by rain on four different occasions, and the game had to be reduced to 26 overs each. India limped to a total of 136/9, but the target was revised to 131 by DLS. Australia’s stand-in captain, Mitchell Marsh, notched an unbeaten 46 to take the hosts past the finishing line and ensured the hosts left Perth with their first ODI win at Optus Stadium after a seven-wicket triumph. (ANI)
