There were a lot of questions surrounding Rohit Sharma who struggled to hit his stride in the past one year. Just when the questions of him being in the side started arising, the Indian captain crafted a perfect counterblast and started giving out hints of a remarkable watershed when he hammered those crucial knocks against New Zealand.
However, come Australia, when the Indian batters struggled to come to terms with a pitch that had so much to offer, it was Rohit Sharma who stood tall and delivered a knock that would be remembered for its elegance, control and dominance, leaving Australia in the wake of some serious trouble to follow.
Rohit blasted a well-constructed 120 from 212 balls, smashing 15 fours and 2 sixes, holding fort against a marauding Todd Murphy who had a sublime day out. However, it was the Aussie skipper who would return to rattle the defenses of Rohit as the captain embarked upon the long walk back to the pavilion.
This was Rohit Sharma’s ninth Test century, also the 8th at home and first as a skipper since he took over the reins from Virat Kohli in Test cricket. Achieving this feat, he equalled the likes of Babar Azam, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Faf du Plessis to score an international century across all formats of the game as a captain. The 35-year-old batter has smashed 6 centuries across all formats as a skipper, three of which came in the ODIs while two of them arrived in T20Is. This was also his 38th international century that makes him the second-highest centurion as an opener after Sachin Tendulkar’s 45. Rohit had put up some exquisite strokes, showing firm control over his shots and exuding confidence on a track that had the batters sweating profusely.
