With just a few minutes left for India’s innings to commence in the Champions Trophy final, it was time to have some refreshments in the nearby canteen. The thinking behind it was, ‘anyway, the Indian openers would take a few deliveries to get their eye in.’ But Rohit Sharma had some other ideas. The second ball bowled by New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson was pulled with disdain by the India skipper over backward square leg.
As soon as the ball soared over the boundary ropes, legions of fans at the Dubai International Stadium erupted in joy. The thunderous din was such that even while picking up refreshments, some metres away from the stadium, it felt as if yours truly was a part of one of those stands. The batting masterclass didn’t stop there. The willow-wielder was ready to manufacture shots – be it a dance down the track, clearing out the front leg or lapping it over short fine-leg.
When he essayed that lap, one could envisage a map of New Zealand’s fielding positions fitted in his brain. Just for a few seconds, with eyes closed, one could also imagine all the chants of “Rohit, Rohit, Hitman, Hitman…” resonating across the length and breadth of the stadium.
It is true that Rohit’s innings comprised some risky shots. For instance, a few times when he tried to heave it across the line, he was beaten. However, on a used track, India required someone to adhere to the old idiom – live by the sword, die by the sword – against the pace bowlers upfront. It ensured that when the spinners were introduced, India already had a platform. In the eventual analysis, it was Rohit’s 83-ball 76 that turned out to be the watershed moment of the game.
In this context, let’s examine another theory – A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon forest, and you get sunshine instead of rain.
Basically, it is related to chaos theory, whereby a small change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome. Over the last few years, this maxim can be used to describe Rohit’s batting in ODI cricket. In Dharamshala or in Dubai, Rohit took calculated risks after getting beaten and came out on top. His innings in Dharamshala was perhaps even better as the ball was moving around consistently in the first 10 overs.
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That was a summary of Rohit’s blitz, which in turn paved the way for India to surpass New Zealand’s target and hoist the coveted Champions Trophy. Behind the scenes, there was more to Rohit than just that innings. The India skipper had picked up a hamstring niggle during the India-Pakistan encounter. Invariably, there were question marks over Rohit’s participation for the next few matches.
Incidentally, on the eve of the India-New Zealand group game, all eyes were zoomed in on one man, and that was Rohit. For the first 30-45 minutes of that net session, there was no sign of Rohit coming out for batting practice. Ultimately, when he took strike, all the camera lenses were zeroed in on his net session.
Initially, Rohit’s movements seemed a bit stiff, before his back foot started to activate a little better and his front foot began to move to the pitch of the ball. Thankfully for the Indian team, he came through another fitness test, the very next day, and reserved his best for the summit clash.
There was one more interesting facet about Rohit’s game in training sessions: He rarely played the big shot. Almost like the batter that we kept witnessing in net sessions was the long-lost twin brother of the swashbuckling opener, Rohit. Maybe, for Rohit, it is also about feeling bat on the ball in the nets.
So, what about his leadership skills in limited-overs cricket? The biggest quality of Rohit and the rest of the think-tank in the abridged versions of the game is that once they are sure about a cricketer’s skills, they back that player to the hilt. In the Champions Trophy itself, there were enough calls for KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav to be left out. The Indian management didn’t make those changes, and both those aforementioned cricketers repaid the faith shown in them.
Perhaps a few years ago, Rohit used to get flustered when any of his teammates made a mistake or two in the field. But over the last 18 months or so, he has led the side with a sense of calm countenance. It simply can’t be a coincidence that India’s successful Champions Trophy campaign was based on players firing collectively.
As a captain, Rohit has now won multiple IPL titles and two ICC tournaments. The 2023 World Cup final was an anomaly, with India slipping to a defeat. That day, Rohit’s eyes were moist. Just some months after that gut-wrenching defeat, pictures of Rohit eating a bit of grass from the Barbados pitch after India won the T20 World Cup were more than enough to stitch a narrative. The very next year, once again adjectives were not really required to describe the joyous celebrations in Dubai.
So, what is in store for Rohit next? A fairytale ending with him hoisting the 50-over World Cup trophy in South Africa? The chances of a 39-year-old lifting the World Cup trophy are probably not high. But you never say never when it comes to Rohit as he is a man with a Midas touch.