Rohit would ‘love’ to play Test series against Pakistan in neutral venue
Bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan has been put on hold since Misbah-ul-Haq’s team last toured India to play a three-match ODI series way back in 2012-13.
India batsman Rohit Sharma, who scored a sensational hundred on his debut innings as Test opener, shared the secret of his gritty knock in the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Wednesday.
Rohit showed all his class and silenced all those who questioned his selection by scoring an unbeaten 115 against the Proteas.
He, along with Mayank Agarwal (84*), took India to 202 for 0 before rain played spoiltsport to call for an early stumps on Day 1.
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“I wanted to take the opportunity and that’s why I made the management aware of it. I am grateful to them for providing me with the opportunity and I am happy I could score runs,” Rohit told reporters after the end of the day’s play.
Rohit took 174 balls for his 115 which included 12 fours and 5 sixes. However, initially he batted with caution and respected the Proteas seamers — Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
“I was very clear in my mind what I wanted to do. The new ball will always do a bit in the initial overs — whether it’s red ball or white,” said Rohit, who started his innings with defensive approach and later took the bowlers on after setting himself on the crease.
“I have played cricket in India for a long time now and that’s why I was aware of the conditions and knew that once you get past the first 10 overs, it becomes difficult to get wickets. And it becomes easier to score runs.
“This was my plan to tackle the new ball and then stick to what I had planned. Backing myself and my game was most important for me because it was all I had in my mind,” he added.
(With inputs from IANS)
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