CUTTACK: Shreyas Iyer raised his arms aloft as India captain Rohit Sharma walked towards his batting partner at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday. As the ball (off England spinner Adil Rashid) he had smacked hit the long-off stands, Sharma hugged Iyer before raising his bat – for his 32nd ODI century – to acknowledge a loud, sellout crowd for the second ODI.
There was no ecstatic jump or punch in the air or an emotional roar. He did not even remove his helmet as is considered a custom after scoring a hundred. Sharma walked around a bit raising his bat, thanked the heavens before moving towards the square leg umpire. He stood there for a minute. He had been yearning for runs all these days.
It was not easy, especially when those aging limbs don’t move as desired. For Sharma this is more than just a century. It was cathartic. It was an answer, though for the moment, to all the vilification and criticism that he had been bombarded with since last year, starting with the New Zealand Test series. Poor form had been dogging him and results as a captain dried up too. Days before the ICC Champions Trophy this was a big relief for the India skipper and the team.
After getting out cheaply in Nagpur, Sharma came to Cuttack under immense pressure. Although he had played it down in the lead-up to the ODI series saying that this is a different format, Sharma hadn’t been his usual self. His poor form and results across formats and what transpired in the Australian Summer had been affecting him. That he looked like a shadow of himself with the bat in hand — tentative, low on confidence, often double-minded — only added to the concerns.
In fact, he started in a very similar fashion on Sunday as well. He started with a tentative defence, a play-and-miss off Saqib Mahmood, desperately looking for that one boundary to get himself going. And it came off a thick outside edge in the next over against Gus Atkinson. If that gave a breather, the flick on the very next ball which flew over the mid-wicket would have given him some assurance. He found joy and confidence when Sharma sent Mahmood over cover with ease. With the widest smile he has had in recent times, Sharma glove-punched Shubman Gill.
A loft down the ground, and a glance of the pads followed as Sharma knew he had started getting in line, the hands and bat were moving in a way that hadn’t for a while. Which is why, he was not amused when the floodlights stopped the play for about 35 minutes, putting a pause on his flow.
When he came back. Sharma almost got out as he was hit on the pads by Mark Wood. But the umpire's call saved the India captain as he immediately launched the pacer down the ground. From thereon, there was no looking back. Sharma was well and truly back in a format that brings out the best in him. He swept Rashid with ease, cut him to the ropes to bring up the fifty in just 30 balls. With the target within reach, Sharma was in no hurry. He continued to toy with Rashid first, and then Wood. Charging at the England pacer, Sharma swatted a length ball through extra cover and brought out his pull against Atkinson, not once but thrice in a span of two overs. It was almost as if the clock had turned back to the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup.
Unlike the past few months, his hands were getting in line with the way his body was moving, he was seeing the ball well and timed it to perfection. That he was happy to defend with confidence when needed sums it up. The century came in 76 deliveries but this knock was more than just about ticking that 32nd ODI ton. Sunday was about showing the world that he has still got it, that he can still take on bowlers and hit sixes a will — he went past Chris Gayle to become the second-highest six-hitter in ODIs – while holding his own in defence. And this knock – despite its share of luck – would have done a world of good to his confidence.
"It was good, really enjoyed being out there, scoring runs for the team. Important game, series on the line. Broke it down to pieces about how I wanted to bat. It's longer than T20 cricket, but shorter than Tests. Needed to assess and break the innings down to pieces. It was important for batters who are set to bat as deep as possible. They were bowling into the body, trying not to give any room. That's where I prepared my game and tried to access the gaps," Sharma said at the post match presentation.
As he walked back to a standing ovation, Sharma had done his job — 119 from 90 balls — leaving the rest to the middle-order batters. There were a few hiccups with Iyer getting out shortly after but India eventually chased down the target of 305 and sealed the series. Now, over to the other senior batter Virat Kohli, who fell early in Cuttack, to put on a show in Ahmedabad.
Brief scores: England 304 in 49.5 ovs (Root 69, Duckett 65, Livingstone 41; Jadeja 3/35) lost to India 308/6 in 44.3 ovs (Rohit 119, Gill 60, Shreyas 44; Overton 2/27).