Only Viv Richards played the pull shot as well as Sharma, who recently retired from Test cricket. The West Indian mainly played it from square leg to wide mid-on by meeting the ball on the bounce, while the India skipper got under the bounce and hammered it from midwicket to deep fine-leg for sixes
India’s Rohit Sharma pulls one for a six during his 43 on Day Four of the WTC final against Australia at The Oval, London, in 2023. Pic/AFP
Well done, BCCI. The decision to suspend the IPL while hostilities are going on is the correct one. How can there be any sport when our brave and gallant forces are putting their lives on the line for the country? Our prayers and best wishes are with them and their families.
One thing I have been seeing over the years in my travels to the USA in particular is the utmost respect for the armed forces there. When a flight boarding announcement is made, first priority for boarding the aircraft is given to the armed forces and the infirm on wheelchairs who need assistance to board. Even the veteran and retired army personnel get priority in boarding over even first and business class passengers. Hopefully, our public transport services will also begin to do that to show our regard and respect for the valour and sacrifices they make so that we can sleep peacefully in our homes. We mustn’t forget the others who guard our borders like the Customs and Immigration officers and the police forces in the country, who do a thankless job in keeping the law in this vast and blessed country of ours.
More power to their elbows in finishing once and for all the infrastructure that refuses to understand that India will not bow down to their nefarious aims and designs.
Cricket’s big loss
Coming to cricket, the retirement of Rohit Sharma leaves not just India but the cricketing world poorer. While he is available for selection for the one-day format, we will no longer be thrilled by the ease, grace and style with which he pulled the fastest bowlers in the world. I promise you that in the cricket that I have been blessed to watch, only Viv Richards played the pull shot as well as Sharma did. Viv mainly played it down from square leg to wide mid-on by meeting the ball on the bounce, while Sharma got under the bounce and then hammered from midwicket to deep fine-leg for sixes. It was destructive and demoralising for a fast bowler to find his fastest delivery disappearing among the crowds. Both Richards and Sharma had other shots too, but it was the pull that took one’s breath away.
He had so much time to play the quicks that I remember saying during the famous Gabba Test of 2021 that after the ball was delivered he could take off his helmet, comb his hair, wear the helmet back and still have the time to swat the ball away into the crowd. The Australian quick attack of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood were really steaming in and bowling quick, but Sharma was facing them as if he was playing spinners. But for the fact that he seemed to have misjudged the huge size of the boundaries of the Australian ground and so got caught in the deep, he would have had centuries there too.
As an Indian at a time when the batters were treated with derision for the discomfort against fast bowling, it made one feel proud to see opposition quicks being treated in this disdainful manner. As a captain too, his laid-back manner hid a steely resolve to win. His Bambaiya Hindi also conveyed a stern message to the younger members of the team in a humorous way. Not only the cricket-loving public but even the media will miss the interactions they used to have with him at the end of the day’s play. Today, when batting is all about power, Sharma’s grace was a soothing balm to the eyes even as the ball went to the farthest corner of the stadium.
The aesthetes, who follow Test cricket more than the white-ball games, will definitely miss him more than the stats guys simply because he played more for the former than the latter.
Deserving of ovation
Under Rohit Sharma, the Indian tri-colour flew proudly at bilateral series and the world events, with India being in the final three times and winning twice. So, a huge round of applause and a standing ovation to him as he bids Test cricket goodbye.
A huge salute to our armed forces too for the wonderful way they are defending our country. Jai Hind.
2,716
Total number of runs scored by Rohit Sharma across all three editions of the World Test Championship cycle, the most by an Indian
88
No. of sixes hit by Rohit Sharma in Test cricket, the second best by an Indian after Virender Sehwag (91)
Professional Management Group
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