From Sachin to Rohit: As one Mumbai master fades, another rises

In a sense, it was perfect. In Sachin Tendulkar’s last match, Rohit Sharma — another Mumbai batsman, just two Tests old — remains unbeaten on 111. It reassures Mumbai that there is life after Sachin. [caption id=“attachment_1232545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rohit Sharma. BCCI[/caption] For as long as you can remember — but for rare occasions — Mumbai has always had representation in the national team. From Polly Umrigar to Sachin there was a virtually unbroken stream of Mumbai players who wore the national colour and to the khadoos city, it meant something. Winning the Ranji trophy is a matter of pride but producing the best players in the country also gave the city something to boast about. For 24 years, they haven’t had to worry about that — there was always Sachin. But now, they wondered, who would be the next world beater from Mumbai. And Rohit Sharma has risen to the occasion and displayed a brilliant sense of timing in doing so. As one master fades, another rises — hoping to take his place. For long, Rohit Sharma seemed like the kind of easy-going guy who hoped his talent would take him places. When he found it did not, he seemed to stutter… meander… not quite sure of what his role was in the bigger scheme of things. But the maturity he has displayed of later — as captain of Mumbai Indians, as opener in the ODIs and as the number six batsman in Tests — shows that perhaps he has made his peace with the world. Cheteshwar Pujara, who worked his way to a classy 113 himself, couldn’t help but praise Rohit. “I think he batted really well. I felt that the way VVS Laxman used to bat with the tail, he has done the same thing. It was not easy to score runs. He was batting on 50 or 60 when we were eight down and from there onward to score a hundred it is a big achievement,” said Pujara at close of play on Day two. “And he has started off well, even in the first Test match, so he is in good form. He has done well in the ODI format also, so I think he is doing really well,” he added. Rohit helped himself to a brilliant 111 off 127 balls — his second consecutive century in Test cricket; his second in two consecutive innings — his only two innings in Test cricket. He has played two Tests and Tendulkar, 200. There is some symmetry in that too. But truly the most special part of the knock was the manner is which he batted with Mohammad Shami. The duo shared a partnership worth 80 runs in 17.4 overs and Shami’s contribution was a mere 11. He farmed the strike, refused the singles initially and when he did get the chance, he went for the big shots. He had a clear head and knew exactly how he wanted to play. And in this too… perhaps Sachin has had a part to play. “Team India is doing really well but there is a lot of input from Sachin paaji on the way the youngsters are shaping up. He has been guiding all the youngsters. I have been noticing this since I made my debut and not only me but a lot of youngsters have got a lot of benefit from his inputs and the kind of conversations we have during the nets,” said Pujara. And that’s exactly what Rohit showcased in the middle. With another Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane poised to make the jump soon too, at least for now, Mumbai can rest easy.