File image of Rohit Sharma© AFP
India skipper Rohit Sharma has been receiving a lot of praise for his performance in the recently concluded two-match Test series against West Indies. The 36-year-old batter not only brought up his hundred in the first Test but also went on to smash a half-century in the second match. Though Team India failed to register a clean sweep as Day 5 of the second Test got washed out, they still managed to claim the series with 1-0 lead. Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim praised Rohit for his excellent captaincy.
Karim hailed Rohit for his fearless batting in the first Test as the India skipper brought up a ton despite having difficult pitch conditions. He also praised Rohit including wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan into the Playing XI.
“In the first Test, the wicket was not easy to bat and Rohit got a hundred. Some of his decisions, bringing Ishan Kishan in the mix and all these showed that Rohit wants to win this time around,” said Karim on Jio Cinema.
Players like Ravichandran Ashwin, who took 12 wickets in the first Test, followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 171 runs in his debut, are some of the players who played exceptionally well for the visitors in the two-match series. However, Karim choose skipper Rohit as the Player of the Series for his “intensity” and “aggression”.
“But I would go with Rohit because this was a fresh WTC cycle and he had to lead from the front. The intensity and the aggression he showed sent a strong message to the rest of the side that this is the way you want to take it forward,” he added.
Eyeing a clean sweep after their victory inside three days in Dominica, India called the shots here too and set the hosts an imposing target of 365. But the match ended in a draw after the fifth and final day’s play was washed out.
(With PTI Inputs)
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