Former cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that fans shouldn’t worry about Rohit Sharma’s form after the India captain scored an important fifty against New Zealand on Saturday in the second ODI.
After the bowlers led by Shami stole the show with the ball, it was the turn of Sharma and Gill to light up Raipur. After starting slowly, the India captain started playing shots at will and scored a 50-ball 51. Gill remained unbeaten on 40 as India won the match by eight wickets and sealed the series.
“I am repeatedly saying that you shouldn’t worry too much about Rohit Sharma’s form at all. This was his first half-century while chasing against New Zealand and it came at the right time.”
“He made only one mistake when the ball hit his pads, there was an lbw appeal, they wanted to take the DRS but didn’t take it. But other than that, he looked in complete control, we saw amazing shots, on the up on the off side and the leg side,” said Pathan.
Pathan also said Sharma would achieve bigger milestones going forward and praised him for respecting the conditions in Raipur at first before launching the attack.
“The conditions were not easy, they were slightly difficult. The ball was moving a little under the lights. The scoreboard pressure was not there but he had to go close to a half-century. That milestone has come and if he gets an opportunity going forward, he will make the milestone even bigger because he is batting extremely well.”
“The problem is that when you are chasing a low score, you try to hit from the first ball. That was not the case. He respected the conditions and then played his favorite shots once he got set,” said Pathan.
