India's Rohit Sharma reacts as he walks off the field after losing his wicket
It seemed like an elusive overseas Test ton won't be a dream anymore for Rohit Sharma. As India faced a test of survival after being bowled out for a partly 78 in the first innings, the senior opener batted with responsibility, combining his skill-set with responsibility and notching up his 14th Test half-century against the red-ball on Friday.
A controlled pull shot behind square for four runs and an effortless upper-cut to dispatch a short delivery over the boundary line showed glimpses of Rohit's touch on Day 3 of the Headingley Test between England and India.
The Indian unit would have perhaps been flummoxed by their horror batting show on the opening day. Joe Root's third consecutive ton piled further misery on the visiting team and England, in three sessions, gained an upper hand in Leeds. Despite the slowing down of the pitch, an intimidating 345-run lead to equal made things worse for India, with the threat of defeat looming large on Day 3 itself.
Rohit, however, came across as a typical Mumbai batsman -- gritty, not giving an inch and taking calculated risks with the bat. While KL Rahul (8) departed cheaply, Rohit held the fort tight. En route to his 14th Test fifty, Rohit stitched a half-century stand with Cheteshwar Pujara and a ton, all of a sudden, started looking like a cakewalk for the opener.
Standing tall against a stiff challenge, Rohit "curbed" his natural game and moulded himself according to the situation. "Total admiration for @ImRo45 as he can play those charismatic shots anytime but curbing his natural game for his team by playing the condition and the situation [emoticon: clapping hands sign]," tweeted former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
The 34-year-old, however, made his way back with an unwanted record -- most away runs in Test cricket without scoring a hundred. India's love-hate relationship with the DRS continued as Rohit, batting on 59, was trapped by Ollie Robinson and replays showed the ball clipping the top of leg-stump. "Umpire's call" showed the screen as Rohit smashed his bat into the ground in frustration.
Rohit, who started opening during the 2019 home series against Bangladesh and South Africa, is second in the list of top run-getters just behind Joe Root (1398 runs) this year with an aggregate of 768 runs. Rohit also has the most 50-plus scores (8) since he started opening the innings in Test cricket.
Like his ODI career, Rohit's Test stint has notched a level up since his promotion as the Indian team's opener. In the past three years, the right-hander has scored 1324 runs in 25 innings including four tons and as many half-centuries.
While some would argue that his best Test knocks have come on home soil, Rohit's record, especially at the top, in overseas conditions makes him stand out in India's opening mix. In 10 innings in the Test series against Australia and England, Rohit has notched up 359 runs at an average of 39.88. His performance on home soil is on a different level altogether. In 13 innings, he has scored over 900 runs at an average of 75.08, with four hundreds and a half-century to his name.
In the previous Test at Lord's, Rohit was just 17 runs away from scoring his maiden overseas Test ton when James Anderson ran through his defence.
"I am a little disappointed not to get to that three-figure mark but again, I saw the replay probably 20 times and I couldn’t have done anything to that ball. That’s Test cricket, you can’t bring out your flashy drives especially when the weather conditions are like that. You need to understand that and the experience that I have, I need to apply that," he had said on his dismissal in the second Test.
Safe to say, he has taken the role of opening in Test cricket with aplomb, but a name on the Lord’s Honours Board may wait.
