Rohit Sharma took the field in a completely different mood during India’s second ODI versus England in a three-match series on February 9. After scoring 119 runs from 90 balls with 12 fours and 7 sixes in the game at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, the 37-year-old batter opened the batting for the Men in Blue on their chase of 305. During his innings, Rohit broke a number of batting records and aided India in sealing the series with a four-wicket win.
With many questions surrounding Rohit’s form heading into this fixture, the veteran of 267 ODI matches conjured the distance in blissful style. The score was his 32nd century in the 50-over format, which also brought him the accolade of leading India as captain for the 50th ODI.
Addressing his audience through a BCCI video on IG and X, Rohit expressed candidly about his knock-the stuff he knows he needs to do.
“Man! This is what I am talking about. I mean, come on! When people have done a number of years playing the game and have scored that amount of runs over the years, fine, that is worth something. I have been in this game long enough now. I know what is required out of me. So you just go and do your stuff. And today was one of my ‘things’,” said Rohit.
“In my mind, it was just about going out there and doing what I do, batting the way I do, trying to bat the way I do. Like I said, I’m here long enough, so one or two knocks are not going to change how I feel. But just another day in the office,” he went on.
Rohit claims that he wants to do well every time he walks out to bat but sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he does not. “Every time I walk onto the pitch to play the game, I want to try and do well. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it may not happen. All it matters is I am clear about what I want to do, that’s it. Nothing else matters. When you have scored so many runs, you have done something, right? You just need to get back into that mindset of how to get runs, how to score runs.”
It sounds simple, but it’s very difficult. But in my mind, it was just about enjoying. That’s what we play the sport for, to enjoy the game above anything else,” he went on.
