India captain Rohit Sharma set the internet on fire with his unbeaten 28 balls from 51 shots, although the Men in Blue suffered another heartbreak, the team’s second in as many appearances in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma, who dislocated his left thumb while on the pitch in the Bangladesh innings, came out at bat at No.9 for India and nearly took his team to a famous victory in the second ODI at Shere-E-Bangla Stadium. But in the end, India had to suffer a shocking five-point loss to lose their second straight series to Bangladesh.
Beating first, Bangladesh found themselves inside the ropes at 6/69 with India dominating the proceedings with the help of Washington Sundar’s three wickets.
However, just when it looked like India was running away with the game, a blistering 148-point stand between Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraz brought Bangladesh back into the game. After Mahmudullah perished for 77 in the 47th, Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave the final push to Bangladesh’s innings as 54 runs came out of the final 23 balls.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz went undefeated on 100 out of 83 deliveries and was the main hero of Bangladesh’s comeback.
In response, Rohit Sharma and co found themselves in a deep hole at 4/65 with Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul all back in the hut. Their problems were further exacerbated due to the unavailability of Rohit Sharma at the top of the command, the reason being a thumb injury.
A 107-run partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel ended the rut, but the asking rate kept rising. Moments later, Team India was on the verge of defeat with a score of 213/8. Just when everyone thought the match was over, there was another twist in the story as an injured Rohit Sharma entered the bat.
Despite the injury problem, Rohit Sharma played a brave shot as he started kicking the ball all over the ground and brought the equation down to 20 points late in the 49th.
With 20 needed to win the match in the final, Rohit Sharma crushed the second and third deliveries for the limits, however, what made it difficult for him was the point ball that Mustafizur Rahman threw in the fourth.
With two sixes needed to win the Indian game, Rohit Sharma hit the fifth delivery of the 50th for a max, but Mustafizur Rahman then produced an unplayable yorker on the last ball to claim a stunning victory.
Rohit Sharma’s effort, however, was highly praised by fans who called him the ‘champion’ while others claimed that he won the hearts of all Indians due to his daring stunt.
Even the world’s No. 1 hitter in T20I Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t resist sending him a message of gratitude, tweeting, “Massive Respect bro.”
massive respect brother @ImRo45#BANvsIND
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) December 7, 2022
Always proud of you Hitman Rohit Sharma. You are a champ @ImRo45pic.twitter.com/LgMsi5SD06
— RATNISH (@LoyalSachinFan) December 7, 2022
Bow down, Rohit Sharma!!
Made the brave decision to come out at bat with an injured thumb and scored 51* (28), with less chance of winning the game, he gave his best and pulled India closer. pic.twitter.com/JVwww7wfPZ
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 7, 2022
India lost the match 💔, but the lion 🦁 Rohit Sharma 🔥, captured the hearts of all India 🇮🇳 and the cricketing world. pic.twitter.com/hanureY8by
— Vichal. (@SPORTYVISHAL) December 7, 2022
Rohit Sharma, a champ.
– Jeans. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 7, 2022
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma gave an update on his thumb injury he suffered during the rounds in Bangladesh. The 35-year-old eventually batted out at number 9 for India before breaking an unbeaten 51 from 28 balls to bring the visitors close to victory in the contest final.
“Honestly, the thumb isn’t too big. A dislocated finger but not a fracture, that’s why I was able to come and strike,” said Rohit Sharma after India’s second consecutive loss in the series.
“I think when you lose a game there are positives and negatives… Going 70 for 6 at 270 for 270 was not a great effort from the bowlers. The middles and the backs hurt us – it hurt us in the first game as well,” he added.
“We have to focus on what we need to do as individuals, but without taking anything away from Mehidy and Mahmudullah. But we have to learn how to break partnerships and this is something that will be very useful for you,” explained Rohit Sharma.
In one-day cricket, it’s about partnerships like these guys did. When you get 50, 70 managed partnerships, you should make it a 100-120 partnership. That said, we have a lot to look at and we need to be a little brave and take more risks,” the cricket star explained born in Nagpur.
“Few injury problems and we have to get to the bottom of it; maybe they play too much cricket. This is something we need to discuss with our NCA team and try to monitor their workload. I can’t afford to have half-fit players to represent India,” concluded Rohit Sharma.
The third and final ODI of the series between the two teams will be played at Chattogram on Saturday.
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