An outrageous Rohit innings for an outrageous series

There is great, then there is the astounding and then there is Rohit Sharma’s innings. His mind-numbing innings of 209 against Australia in the 7th ODI at Bangalore can be broken down into three distinct phases. First 50 runs - 71 balls (SR 70.42) Next 50 runs - 43 balls (SR 116.28) Next 109 runs- 44 balls (SR 247.72) Many of the really big ODIs innings – begin quickly and then just keep going faster and faster. Or you have the template where you maintain a steady pace throughout. But Rohit’s innings was neither. Shikhar Dhawan did most of the hitting early on, then he was involved in a mix-up with Virat Kohli, he watched Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh give it away. It wasn’t until he was joined by Mahendra Singh Dhoni that he gave himself the license to swing freely. [caption id=“attachment_1208689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rohit Sharma was simply superb. BCCI[/caption] He built it up slowly, steadily, and burst through with a round of manic hitting. The numbers are worth listing: 209 runs (the second highest ODI score ever), 16 sixes (a world record), 12 fours (he hit more sixes than fours), 9 twos, 47 singles, 74 dot balls. His 491 runs are a world record in a bilateral series. Honestly, it wasn’t the greatest knock you’ll see. And given that Faulkner’s 100 – the fastest ever by an Australian batsman – was probably just as good – it’s hard to rank it. There were top edges that went for sixes and inside edges that went for four. And as the break-up shows it wasn’t until later in the innings that he really got going. But when he did get going – there was little anyone could do to stop him and he did get 200 in an ODI match. The thing about Rohit is that unlike a lot of batsmen in international cricket, his strokes look effortless. The hitting, when it comes off, looks easy and as we’ve heard people repeat over and over again – he has time to play his shots. But at another level, he also knew he was running out of time to come good. Rohit Sharma’s average when not opening the batting was a middling 31.43. Just good enough to get him in the team when the others were failing. But as opener – he’s made the shift into a higher realm. After 26 matches, he is averaging 50.34. He is now primed to make his stint at the top of the order count. Admittedly, he has done it on pitches that have been perfect for batting but then Mitchell Johnson was pretty good early on. The best part of this innings was that he did not give it away. Early in his career, Rohit was often guilty of giving away his wicket after getting starts – now he seems to be rectifying. This series was a battle of attrition and the bowlers had nowhere to hide but then it was also a series where batsmen simply had to come good. For once, Rohit seems to have found his space and is comfortable in it. Knowing you have the talent is one thing and being comfortable with it is quite another. “To get 200 runs is a wonderful feeling. The idea was to stay on the wicket and capitalise later. This is a small ground and it’s easier to hit and I just took my chances,” the 26-year-old Sharma said. “It is really coming off very well for me. I got a hundred in the last game and I just wanted to carry on from that. I wanted to play big. I just wanted to keep the momentum going," he said. And India can only hope that Rohit doesn’t throw this start away too.