Rohit Sharma on attacking approach in India’s 147 run chase: ‘There are certain ideas on my mind…it didn’t come off’ | Cricket News

Chasing 147 runs after getting beaten a couple of deliveries out-of-form Indian skipper Rohit Sharma stepped down the track and hit Matt-Henry over mid-on for a boundary. Though he did not time the ball well he got off the mark unconvincingly. However soon after he tried to pull the ball and was caught at mid-wicket Glenn Phillips of the same bowler. Being aggressive at the top of the order has been the mantra of the Indian skipper for a while now however, in this series, the skipper struggled to score runs but tried to maintain a positive tempo.
When asked after the match about what was going through his mind Rohit would respond saying, “You want runs on the board as well, that’s something that was there in my mind, it didn’t come off and when it happens, it doesn’t look great. There are certain ideas on my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it didn’t come off and that’s disappointing for me.”
Rohit’s average of 15.16 is the worst of his Test career in a series where he played at least three matches. Oddly enough, in a series dominated spinners from both sides, Rohit was dismissed four out of six times pacers with Tim Southee and Matt Henry accounting for him twice each.
In addition to his batting Rohit’s captaincy too has not been up to the mark. “Also, I wasn’t at my best with both bat and as a captain, that’s something that’ll rankle me,” he acknowledged. Winning the toss and opting to bowl first in Bengaluru was a brave call from the 37-year-old which resulted in India getting bowled out to 47 in the morning session and in Pune, his tactics and field sets on a wicket which was aiding spin were too negative at times and attracted criticism from pundits. In Mumbai, though it felt like he rectified his makes as a captain his batting let him down.