Rohit Sharma hit a brilliant unbeaten 94 in difficult conditions to help the defending champions strengthen their position against Railways in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A tie at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi.
For Rohit Sharma, there have been ups and downs in the recent past. First he was dropped from the Indian squad after disappointing performances in the World T20 and in West Indies. Then, he was not among runs in domestic cricket hence was being criticised for his lack of focus.
But on Wednesday, the 22-year-old Mumbai batsman silenced his critics, hitting a brilliant unbeaten 94 in difficult conditions to help the defending champions strengthen their position against Railways in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A tie at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi. When Mumbai were looking down the barrel with 161 for seven, Sharma, coming in at No. 5, did the rescue act that saw the visitors take a 61-run lead on the second day of the four day tie.
The stylish batsman, known for his aggressive strokeplay, took the responsibility on a turning track and guided Mumbai to a decent 248 for eight when the stumps were drawn.
He took 232 minutes and 187 balls to score 94 with eleven boundaries and a towering six. Skipper Wasim Jaffer was the second highest scorer with 75.
Mumbai’s start was disappointing as they lost opener Sahil Kukreja with the scoreboard reading 3-1. Then skipper Jaffer and nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni added 63 runs for the fourth wicket, before the latter was dismissed by Rawale. Railways’ skipper and left-arm spinner Murali Karthik sent back Jaffer too.
With wickets falling like nine pins at one end, Sharma held the fort at the other and played every ball on the merit. Of late, he has often been criticised for throwing his wicket away even after getting a good start, but the youngster looked completely focused and was like a man on a mission.
He was ably supported by wicketkeeper-batsman Vinayak Samant (26) and the duo shared a 74-run stand for the eighth wicket before medium-pacer Sanjay Bangar dismissed the latter.
Coach Praveen Amre applauded Sharma’s knock of 94. “Even in the last match, he was focused but he was not getting that one knock. He played an important knock and especially when the team needed. We were in trouble at 161-7 and the way he played was superb,” Amre added.
He further added that Sharma played the game with maturity. “We saw a different Rohit today. He normally likes the ball to come onto the bat but this wasn’t that kind of wicket. He did a tremendous job by applying himself,” he added.
ScorecardRailways 1st innings 187
Mumbai 1st innings (Overnight: 2-1)
A Rahane c Cheluvaraj b Gehlot 2, S Kukreja c Rawle b Gehlot 0, D Kulkarni c Cheluvaraj b Rawle 20, W Jaffer lbw b Kartik 75, R Sharma batting 94, A Nayar b Kartik 4, A Agarkar c Rawle b Sharma 12, O Khanvilkar c Bangar b Kartik 0, V Samant b Bangar 26, Iqbal Abdulla batting 5;
Extras: (LB 1, NB 9) 10;
Total: (8 wickets; 103 overs) 248 (2.40 runs per over);
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-3, 3-86, 4-112, 5-122, 6-159, 7-161, 8-235;
Bowling: S Gehlot 15-3-49-2, M Kartik 42-12-70-3, S Bangar 8-1-26-1, K Sharma 25-4-65-1, M Suresh 4-0-12-0, H Rawle 7-3-14-1, S Sanyal 2-0-11-0
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