"The patient side of Rohit Sharma was seen in his batting" - Irfan Pathan lauds Indian skipper's knock

Irfan Pathan has lauded Rohit Sharma for bringing his patient side to the fore during his enterprising knock in the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday, January 10.

Rohit scored 83 runs off 67 deliveries as the Men in Blue set a mammoth 374-run target for the Lankan Lions. Their bowlers then restricted the visitors to 306/8 to win the game by 67 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked about his thoughts on Rohit's knock, to which he responded:

"This is what we wanted to see when Rohit Sharma was coming back, that his fitness should be better, which we saw in the running between the wickets. But the best part was that the patient side of Rohit Sharma was seen in his batting, where he took his time."

The former Indian all-rounder highlighted that the Mumbai batter was waiting for deliveries on the stumps to play his shots, stating:

"It was seamless batting from Rohit Sharma right from the start when he hit his first four straight down the ground. After that, he was waiting for the balls to come onto his stumps."

Rohit struck nine fours and three sixes during his innings. He strung together an opening-wicket partnership of 143 runs with Shubman Gill (70 off 60) in 19.4 overs to lay a solid foundation for a huge total.

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"He played to his strengths" - Irfan Pathan on Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is known for his pull shots. [P/C: BCCI]

Pathan praised Rohit for playing his trusted shots, explaining:

"He played to his strengths. We saw the pull shots. We also saw him using his feet against the spinners and playing big shots straight down the ground. So he scored runs all around the park."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that runs from Rohit, Gill and Virat Kohli's willows are a huge positive for the Men in Blue, saying:

"These are great signs for Indian cricket where your experienced captain Rohit Sharma's bat fired, we saw a century from the champion player Virat Kohli, and we saw good batting from Shubman Gill at the start."

Pathan concluded by opining that runs under his belt will be a huge confidence booster for the Indian skipper, observing:

"Overall you would say that it was toothless bowling from Sri Lanka, there is no doubt about that, but we saw seamless runs from Rohit, which was extremely important for his confidence."

Rohit's 83-run knock was his second consecutive fifty in ODI cricket. The stylish batter smashed an unbeaten 51 in the second ODI against Bangladesh after suffering a thumb injury while attempting a catch in the slips. However, that knock went in vain as the Tigers won the match by five runs to seal the series in their favor.