India may have lost the ODI series to Bangladesh but the way Rohit Sharma fought until the very end braving a serious thumb injury will go down in history as one of the most courageous innings of all time. Rohit, nursing a dislocated left thumb which he later pointed out, walked out to bat with India in trouble, still needing 64 to win off 44 balls, and nearly pulled it off. Walking in at No. 9, Rohit struck a blistering half-century off just 27 balls and brought the equation down to 12 off 2 balls, and although he could not get the job done eventually, the India captain’s fighting spirit won hearts.
However, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned Rohit’s decision to reserve himself till so late in the batting order. Gavaskar feels that if Rohit had decided he would bat, the India captain could have come in a little early, which could have made things a bit easier for India.
“Everybody knows the quality and class of the man. And the thing now, when India came so close, is why did he not come in to bat earlier. If he was going to bat at No. 9, then he should have batted at No. 7,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network after Bangladesh clinched the series with a five-run win.
Chasing 272 to win, India were jolted early and were reduced to 65/4 before a century stand worth 107 between Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel brought India back in the game with both batters peeling off respective half-centuries. But the pressure of a rising asking rate got the better of Shreyas and Axar with both batters departing in quick succession. Gavaskar reckons that had Rohit walked in a little earlier, it would have allowed the remaining batter to play a little more patiently, more so Axar, who played a rash stroke and got out.
“What that could have done is, I think, Axar Patel would have played differently. Axar thought that maybe Rohit Sharma won’t bat, and therefore he played that shot. At that stage, there was no need to play that shot. Axar was batting so well, he was picking the ball well, and had he continues, you never know, the outcome could have been different. At No. 9, he almost got India to a memorable win so had he come to bat at 7, India would have had a much better chance,” Gavaskar added.
However, it did not seem as if the thumb was bothering Rohit much. When he came to bat, Rohit had a big layer of taping over the thumb of the glove, and while he struggled to time the ball initially, he eventually get into the groove. Literally batting with one hand, Rohit smoked 6, 6, and 4 off Ebadot Hossain. In the 49th over, Rohit took on Mahmudullah smashing the off-spinner for two more sixes. The same over, Rohit was dropped twice but his exploits brought the equation down to 20 off the last over. Rohit kept going until the very end, hitting two fours and a six off Mustafizur Rahman before facing a pin-point yorker that gave Bangladesh a thrilling last-ball victory.
