Indian cricket team legend Sunil Gavaskar was full of praise for Rohit Sharma after the veteran batsman pulled off a brilliant century to guide his team to victory over Afghanistan in the 2023 Cricket World Cup on Wednesday. Rohit failed to score much in the tournament opener to score against Australia, but the India captain was in good form against Afghanistan, going on to score 131 off 84 deliveries. Gavaskar pointed out that Rohit has missed a couple of centuries in the recent past and it was mainly due to his aggressive attitude which is useful for the team. However, ahead of the crucial clash against Pakistan, a dominant century will do a lot of good for the star of the Indian cricket team.
“I’m very happy he got a hundred because he missed a lot of hundreds. With him, he is a risk taker. And that’s why sometimes, in the 1960s, 1970s – look at the number of times – he would get the team off to a flying start within half a century. But he wants to continue in the same way, because it benefits the team. For example, today you get that (run rate) of 8 runs per over,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“The strike rate, it helps your net run rate. Who knows what will happen? After another 5-6 games. You may need these decimal places to qualify. So obviously he may have missed a few hundred, but he entertained us all. And today was another special occasion. Some of the sixes he hit are just unbelievable,” the legendary batsman added.
Gavaskar also mentioned Virender Sehwag while praising Rohit Sharma and drew a comparison between the two openers in the way they approach their innings.
“Every century from him is a joy to watch. Because there’s that ease with which he seems to caress the ball as he hits the ball along the ground. Very few hitters have the ability to pull off the front foot like he does. Same with Virender Sehwag, Viru was also similar. Opening batsman, goes with a bang and scores 60s-70s, 80s,” he explained.
“And look, we as cricket fans, batting lovers, want them to continue. So when they don’t. Then sometimes we get very upset. Like what kind of shot you played. But they still score 60,70,80s. But we want them to go on and score a hundred. Glad he has a hundred after January. Because this is what India needs, India needs a start from its skipper. The kind of flying start that is given because that propels a team to a big score,” concluded Gavaskar.
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