'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar has heaped praise on Rohit Sharma for his fantastic hundred on Day 3 of The Oval Test against England. According to Gavaskar, the innings had all the ingredients of how a Test match innings must be built.
Rohit Sharma scored a majestic 127 on Saturday to put India in command of the fourth Test. The visitors ended the day on 270 for 3, having gained a lead of 171 in the second innings.
According to Gavaskar, the standout feature of Rohit Sharma’s innings was how straight he played while defending.
Gavaskar said, while praising Rohit Sharma on Sony Sports Network:
"Incredible knock. Very, very impressive, for the simple reason that the way he was covering the swing when the ball was new. Not just here, but even in the earlier matches. The way he was playing very late, the way he had the bat and pad close to each other… not pushing at deliveries. Once he settled down, then all the shots began to flow. But then the most impressive thing is the straightness of his bat, when he's defending. Then of course the use of his feet to get to his Test century."
The former Indian captain added the biggest challenge for gifted strokemakers like Rohit Sharma is to curb their natural instinct, which the opener did wonderfully well on Saturday.
Gavaskar added:
"Once he got to fifty, he opened up. He's widened the range of his shots. He's played the V, played the cuts and the sweep shot. That's exactly how a Test match innings has to be built. That is the biggest challenge of players of his genius. For someone like him or GR Viswanath, or Azharuddin… they all had different options for deliveries. They could play on the on side and the off side, but then to curb that and play what is needed for the occasion is very important and that’s what he's done today."
Rohit Sharma got to his hundred in style, dancing down the track to Moeen Ali and lifting him into the stands for six. He was eventually dismissed for 127, immediately after England took the new ball.
“Many more on the way” - Sunil Gavaskar predicts more Test hundreds from Rohit Sharma
According to Gavaskar, Rohit Sharma’s hundred at The Oval will give him the confidence to score many more in the times to come.
Gavaskar concluded:
"He's shown to himself that he can do that. Many more on the way. He has realized I need to play more than those lovely cameos, those lovely 30s, 40s. Mind you, even in T20s, he was scoring heaps of runs, getting 70s, 80s, 100s over there as well, because he realised, he has to bat and take the responsibility and bat throughout 20 runs."
Meanwhile, India will resume Day 4 at The Oval looking to stretch their lead to 250-300. Virat Kohli (22 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (9 not out) were at the crease at stumps.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
