Rohit Sharma’s century against Afghanistan in Bengaluru not only set a new record but also sent positive vibes to the fans prior to the T20 World Cup 2024. The Indian captain returned to India’s T20I set-up after 14 months but couldn’t do anything special in the first two games. Securing back-to-back ducks was obviously frustrating and he wanted to break the shackles desperately. Comes the third encounter in Bengaluru where he set the Chinnaswamy Stadium ablaze with boundaries and sixes.
Rohit smashed 11 boundaries and 8 sixes during his 69-ball stint in the middle, notching his highest T20I score of 121 not out. His 192-run partnership with Rinku Singh, who got his 2nd fifty, took India to a mammoth total of 212/4 in 20 overs. Afghanistan though equalled the score piled up by the hosts but lost the game in the second Super Over.
The victory also helped Rohit emulate MS Dhoni’s record for winning 41 T20Is as captain of the Indian cricket team. Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar reserved huge praise for the Indian captain and his partner Rinku for bailing India out of a precarious situation.
“This is the format where your captaincy skills are really tested. If he has a higher winning percentage than MS and Virat, that tells you what a good captain he is. What I really liked about this innings is that, generally you say in a T20I game now – the template is to go bang bang bang from the word go. And that is the template that is set. But both Rohit and Rinku used their cricketing intelligence at 22-4 and said no. We can get runs later on but let’s just give ourselves a little bit of time,” Gavaskar told Cricbuzz.
Rohit and Rinku added over 100 runs to the Indian total in the last five overs. While the Indian skipper surpassed the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav with a record 5th T20I hundred, his partner notched up his second fifty. Gavaskar was impressed to see how the India duo used their cricketing intelligence to take the team from 22/4 in the Powerplay (4.3 overs) to 212/4 in 20 overs.
“If we lose a wicket or two here, we’ll be 70 all out. We’re 90 all out. So let’s give ourselves a little bit of time, we have the ability to make up for it as the innings progresses. And they did, last five overs – 100. But this is a one-off. Normally, you want your teams to play in a different template. But to have that cricketing intelligence and the skillset to adapt and adjust and change your game, to what needs to be done, that is key,” Gavaskar added.
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