Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has opined that he rarely seen Rohit Sharma struggle so much amid the ongoing ODI series against England. Rohit looked a bit rusty in 47-ball 26-run knock against the hosts and was dismissed after facing nine dot balls on the trot in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Thursday.
The Indian opener was trying to play a sweep shot against Will Jacks but could only manage a bottom edge, which ballooned to England wicket-keeper Jos Butter. Earlier on Tuesday, Rohit was dismissed after scoring 11 runs off 21 balls when he stepped down the track against Sam Curran but holed out to Harry Brook at mid-off.
“He played a strange innings in this match, I have rarely seen Rohit Sharma struggle like this, where he is getting stuck against the short ball. In the next match you are going to see Rohit Sharma take on and play shots, he will pull, he will drive, and he might get out, but that is a different matter. But he is going to play with intent in the next match,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
The former UP batter said Rohit would want to go on a high if Lord’s ODI is the last one of his glorious career.
“Assume that Rohit Sharma plays and scores a 100, he can do that, because when he flops for 2-3 innings, he bats aggressively in the next game. He has done that throughout his career. Yes, he has not been consistent, that has been the difference between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. So, if such an innings comes, he would want that to happen,” he added.
“If he decides that he will not play any longer or the selectors take the call that he will not play, then he would want to go out like this, on a high note. He would want to contribute in a do-or-die game, and he can do that. He was not settled in the second ODI, the flow was not there, so his time has come, but this has happened many times in his career, and he has always responded back, so I hope that if the next match is his last, then he should go out with such an innings that people remember,” he added.
The decider of the three-match series between England and India will be played at Lord’s on Sunday.
