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Rohit Sharma's captaincy instincts take over; corrects bowler's plan as Shubman Gill stays absorbed in his role
The sight clearly showed that even without the armband, Rohit Sharma continues to influence the team’s strategy and decision-making.
India batting star Rohit Sharma may no longer be the official captain in the ODI format, but his leadership on the field remains unmistakable. During the second game of the ongoing three-match series against Australia in Adelaide, while Shubman Gill stayed focused on setting the field, Rohit stepped in to guide Washington Sundar with animated, tactical advice. The sight clearly showed that even without the armband, he continues to influence the team’s strategy and decision-making.
In the incident happened after the 33rd over, after Rohit spotted that Sundar was erring with his bowling plan to left-handed batter Cooper Connolly, he walked up to the bowler and gave him a dose of fiery on-field chat. It looked like an animated chat, with Rohit making numerous hand gestures that indicated he was guiding the off-spinner on what changes to make. Sundar did not utter a single word and did all the listening, while Gill was seen in the background, busy setting up the field for the next over.
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"The key for the off-spinner to the left-hander is to move the ball away from the batter, and bowl a little slower," said former India fast bowler Varun Aaron on commentary after watching Rohit. “Generally captains come and tell the bowlers what to do...”
Earlier in the match, Rohit made a stunning comeback in Adelaide. After being dismissed for just eight runs in the rain-curtailed series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth last week, which added fuel to the ongoing World Cup chatter, the 38-year-old scored a potentially career-extending 73 on Thursday, which laid the foundation of India's decent total of 264 for 9 against Australia in Adelaide.
Rohit, who hasn't missed a training session since landing in Australia last week, carved out a patient 97-ball knock, en route to which he even forged an innings-building 118-run stand for the third wicket with vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored a 77-ball 71 as India fought back after losing Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) in quick succession.
At the back-end of the innings, Axar Patel, promoted to No. 5 in the line-up, vindicated the call with his 41-ball 44, which included a 39-run stand with Sundar (12), before tail-enders Harshit Rana (24 not out) and Arshdeep Singh (13) added 37 off 29 balls for the ninth wicket.
