It was all going fine for India on Thursday in the first Test till Rohit Sharma played a mistimed hook shot that brought about his downfall. There was immediate scrutiny about his shot and questions were raised as to why he played such a high-risk shot in the last over before lunch when India were well-placed at 97-0.
The Mumbai right-hander, though, made it clear that he was not bothered about the criticism. “If I get the same ball, I will play that shot again…The margins are fine and it could easily have gone for a six,” Rohit said after the game was called off post tea.
Rohit has always played his cricket that way and, more often than not, it has paid off. In recent times, he has looked more assured at the crease in red-ball cricket as an opener. During the course of his three-hour vigil at the crease over the first two days of the Test, he looked quite comfortable against the moving ball.
“I am shuffling a little less than what I used to do before. That’s probably one of the reasons I have looked more assured at the crease,” the Mumbai man added.
On Friday, India’s first target will be to go past England’s first-innings total so that they can put the pressure on the hosts. The opener feels that the mini collapse that happened late on Thursday could have been avoided if he had not got out.
“If I didn’t get dismissed at that moment, we probably wouldn’t have lost four wickets…It’s important that we go past their total first thing in the morning,” Rohit added.
England to target Pant
Meanwhile, James Anderson, who turned things around with back-to-back wickets of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, is keen to get Rishabh Pant out early on the third day.
“We got a taste of his style of batting even today. He is a fantastic player and it’s important we get him quickly,” Anderson said.
