T20 World Cup 2021: "It seemed his shadow was coming" - Aakash Chopra names Rohit Sharma as his Player of the Match

Aakash Chopra has picked Rohit Sharma as his Player of the Match in India's T20 World Cup 2021 win against Afghanistan. He pointed out that the destructive side of the Indian vice-captain's game was seen after a long time.

Rohit Sharma smashed 74 runs off 47 deliveries in last evening's encounter in Abu Dhabi. The knock helped Team India post a score of 210/2 in their allotted 20 overs and they eventually won the match by 66 runs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Rohit Sharma had not lived up to his reputation over the last few months. He elaborated:

"My player of the match, I am going with Rohit Sharma. When we talk about the rockstars of white-ball cricket, the match-winners, Rohit Sharma's name is present in the top five if we see from the Indian viewpoint. He has hit three double centuries in ODI cricket and has struck so many hundreds in T20 internationals, he has been sensational. But for the last little while, it seemed his shadow was coming instead of Rohit."

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Rohit Sharma was circumspect in both legs of IPL 2021 and India's first two encounters at the T20 World Cup. Chopra observed:

"The Chennai pitches were slow, so he made runs slowly there, which is fine. But after that, there were not many big shots in the second half of the IPL and then he didn't score runs in the first two encounters as well."

Rohit Sharma's 381 runs in IPL 2021 came at a slightly underwhelming strike rate of 127.42. He was dismissed for a golden duck against Pakistan and holed out in the deep after scoring 14 runs against New Zealand.

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"When Rohit Sharma does not make runs, India does not do well" - Aakash Chopra

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Aakash Chopra pointed out that Rohit Sharma being amongst the runs is the key to India's success. He said:

"When Rohit Sharma does not make runs, India does not do well, honestly speaking. When he scores a half-century, Team India wins and then there is no tension."

The 44-year-old concluded by lauding Rohit Sharma for taking the aggressive route right from the word go. Chopra stated:

"The best thing I liked was that the first shot he hit over cover, that was the trailer that he was not thinking about playing cautiously. He started hitting well and when he plays a knock like that, I really enjoyed that knock. He made 74 runs off 47 balls."

Rohit Sharma lofted Mohammad Nabi for a boundary over mid-off in the first over of the Indian innings. There was no stopping him thereafter as he struck eight fours and three sixes during his knock.