Rohit Sharma produced another memorable ODI performance as India chased down West Indies’ mammoth 406-run target in the second ODI at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The India opener smashed 101 runs from 75 balls, including 10 fours and six sixes, to register his 35th ODI century.
Rohit celebrated the milestone with a gesture that immediately caught attention, but the India batter later made it clear that the celebration had a personal meaning. He also praised Shubman Gill after the pair put together a huge opening partnership during India’s record chase.
Rohit Sharma <a href="https://cricket.international/mitchell-marsh-breaks-silence-on-test-comeback-after-pat-cummins-invitation/" title="Mitchell Marsh breaks silence on Test comeback after Pat Cummins’ invitation”>breaks silence on his century celebration
Rohit Sharma walked out with India needing 406 runs after West Indies posted 405/7, their highest ODI total against India. The opener took the attack to the West Indies bowlers from the beginning and brought up his century from just 75 balls.
His innings ended soon after reaching the landmark, with Jayden Seales dismissing him for 101. However, Rohit’s aggressive knock had already put India in a commanding position alongside Gill.
After reaching his 35th ODI hundred, Rohit Sharma performed a celebration that led to questions about who it was directed towards. The veteran batter explained that the moment was not meant for anyone else and was simply personal. He said:
“I keep that celebration for myself. Ah, it’s for me. It’s for me. Some things are just meant to be with you. It’s not to be shared. So yeah, that was for me.”
Gill was fantastic on the other side – Rohit Sharma hails India captain
Rohit Sharma was full of praise for Gill, who remained unbeaten on 223 from 133 balls. The India captain’s innings included 26 fours and eight sixes and helped India chase down 406 with 39 balls to spare.
He said the pair focused on playing each delivery on its merit instead of constantly looking at the required target. The batter stated:
“Yeah, absolutely. I think, like you said, wicket was good. We just wanted to continue to keep batting. We were not thinking too much about the scoreboard, to be honest. We were just trying to play according to the merit of the ball, and we kept stitching the partnership, which was, I think, when you’re chasing a target like that, you need to keep stitching big partnership, and that’s what we did.”
“Gill was fantastic on the other side, very much in control of his batting the entire innings, and to stay not out till the end was fantastic to see as well.”
Rohit Sharma also spoke about the challenge of batting after spending 50 overs on the field in the heat. He said concentration was important and that his experience helped him stay focused during the chase.
“Yeah, again, that comes down to concentration. You’ve got to keep telling yourself that do not throw it away, because here conditions are challenging, but that’s where I wanted to just bring my experience of playing for so many years.”
“You just don’t want to give it that easily, try and stay as much as possible in the game, and we knew that the pitch was good, and we needed big runs from the top order, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Yeah, he was asking me what was that about – Rohit Sharma on Ravindra Jadeja asking about celebration
Rohit’s celebration also caught the attention of teammate Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder apparently asked the former captain about the meaning behind the gesture, but Rohit decided to keep the explanation private. He statedv
“Yeah, he was asking me what was that about. I said I’ll tell you in the dressing room. It’s for me.”
Rohit Sharma also revealed that Jadeja had his own idea for how the celebration should have been performed. However, after spending a long time on the field and then batting for more than 20 overs, Rohit was not interested in adding another physical act to the celebration.
“But he was quite innovative. He wanted me to come and slide and jump, and that’s how he wanted me to celebrate. I said, man, after 50 overs of fielding and batting almost for 25-30 overs, I was never going to do that.”
Source: cricketaddictor.com
