NAGPUR: Just as his bat met the ball, Rohit Sharma knew where it would lead to. He hung his head down with a sigh as soon as the Saqib Mahmood delivery took the toe end of the bat and flew in the air at the packed VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday. Sharma knew his innings was over; that his nightmare form was continuing even in a format that suits him best. And that there is more pressure.
Liam Livingstone completed the catch as a disheartened Sharma had fallen for two runs from seven balls in the first ODI against England. The haunting silence from the fans – in contrast to the cheer he had received all day – might have only made the walk back to the dressing room a bit longer.
It is not the start he would have wanted. Not at this time of his career where every failure is coming under the lens. He has already retired from T20Is and there is no certainty that he will be on that plane to England in June for the five-Test series. All Sharma has in front of him right now is the Champions Trophy.
It is no doubt that Sharma is under pressure. The mode of dismissals point poignantly towards his fading aura and touch. What seems even more disturbing is that there seems to be a pattern emerging as Sharma went in way too early to hit the inswinger from Mahmood over midwicket, which resulted in a leading edge.
This is not the first time Sharma has got out in such a fashion. In the first week of November – during the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai – Sharma tried to pull a back-of-length delivery off Matt Henry. It is a shot he has played successfully numerous times over the years. However, he ended up being late on the pull and the ball climbed on him, took the top edge and Glenn Phillips did the rest.
In the first innings of the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne, Sharma was in a similar position. He shuffled across, setting himself to pull his counterpart Pat Cummins, but didn’t really commit to it. A half-hearted shot resulted in a leading edge and his downfall. In the second innings, he tried to whip the Australian pacer from fifth stump while being stuck on the front foot. The ball took the outside edge and flew to the slip cordon, ending a 40-ball nine.
Even during his Ranji Trophy return there are similarities in dismissal. Playing against Jammu & Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Academy Ground in BKC, Mumbai, Sharma fell to Umar Nazir for a 19-ball three in what was almost a repeat of his dismissal to Henry in November and Cummins in the second innings of Melbourne: a top edge to a pull.
It was the kind of dismissal that would bring the 37-year-old’s movement and reflexes under the scanner. His aging limbs are slower. After Nagpur, an already under pressure Sharma might be feeling the heat. One could get a glimpse of it during the press conference when a genial Sharma looked uneasy on Wednesday.
“I am looking forward to the challenge, not looking at what has happened in the past. Clearly, you don't, so obviously for me also there is no reason to look behind too much. A lot of good things have happened as well. So it's important that I focus on what is coming up and what lies ahead for me. It is as simple as that. Look to try and start the series on a high,” Rohit had said to a simple query about his form and return.
India did start the series on a high with a four-wicket win. Shreyas Iyer scored runs, and so did Shubman Gill, spinners did well while debutant Harshit Rana had a memorable outing as well. With Champions Trophy days away, Sharma would quickly want to turn things around. Over to the second ODI in Cuttack on Sunday.