Rohit Sharma fires but India flop at Lord’s, finish the tour with just one win

With the team management refusing to talk about personal milestones, 39-year-old Rohit Sharma produced a knock that sent every cricket fan into a frenzy. Chasing an improbable target of 388 in the series-deciding order, Rohit became the first Indian to score an ODI hundred at Lord’s on Sunday in a bid to extend his career tally beyond that match.Rohit’s knock of 138 off 110 balls is bound to spark fierce debates about his place in India’s ODI World Cup plans. But it must not be lost on Indian cricket administrators that India have lost three of their last four ODI series, with India going down by 27 runs on a pitch that was the closest to surfaces in India. Head coach Gautam Gambhir will board the plane from London having won just one match on the white-ball tour, which also includes a T20I thrashing at the hands of Ireland. Shubman Gill is yet to win a series since taking over the captaincy from Rohit last October. Discussions surrounding India’s preparation for next year’s World Cup have largely revolved around Rohit at the top of the order. As in recent times, Rohit fired at the end of the series. And as India have been doing of late, their batting has consistently come second to their opponents in high-scoring matches. Most importantly, it is now well known that the bowling attack is always breathless without Jasprit Bumrah, who sat out with a knock injury in the last ODI in Cardiff. England’s batting enjoyed a young Indian bowling attack with Ben Duckett scoring 141 off 135 and Jacob Bethell hitting 91 off 93, followed by an unbeaten Joe Root 74 off 48 and Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 13-ball 41.Rohit did what he had to do to tell the team management and selectors that he is not done playing for India. The innings may not have had the fluidity and amount of punch one associates with Rohit, but it screamed of his resilience and the mental strength of a champion. The start offered by Gill and Rohit was bizarre with the duo cruising at around 5-5.5 runs per over for the first 20 overs of a chase that required a run rate close to 7.5 runs per over.

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Share an opinionRohit eased up once India lost Gill for 77 off 84 balls at 147 and Virat Kohli stepped up intent on chasing that total. Rohit’s struggles with a good length ball on the stumps were evident as he waited for the short balls to unleash his old pull strokes. His first boundaries on the ground came almost around the 30 mark once he settled in completely. He felt like he was in familiar territory with Kohli in his ears at the other end. The chase really started after 25 overs and ended with Rohit falling in spasm in the 39th over. A partnership of 103 runs in 14 overs brought back time for Kohli and Rohit, but hopes of a miracle ended when Kohli departed for 74 off 60.