Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif's social media post hailing India captain Rohit Sharma for his historic ton against England in the third Test in Rajkot went viral on X, previously Twitter.
“Muh tod jawab dena, Rohit ne muh tod jawab dia hai, people who criticised him should keep quiet. He has always silenced his critics with his bat. Whenever anyone doubted his calibre he scored a century like this. I would suggest people not jump to conclusions too early. He is a good cricketer,” Mohammad Kaif said in a video posted on the microblogging site.
“Big names unavailable. Team in trouble at 33/3. Questions being asked about his personal form. And that's when Rohit chooses to silence everyone with the bat,” he added in another tweet.
“Just at the right time, Rohit sharma goes in the zone, looked in rhythm, meant business,” Mohammad Kaif explained.
At 33-3 and with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rajat Patidar back in the hut, India looked in deep trouble at that stage. But captain Rohit Sharma decided to lead from the front as he went about his business in a calm and composed manner.
Not only did the 36-year-old opening batter combine with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to stitch together a crucial 204-run partnership with the local lad, but completed his 11th Test century as well.
While Rohit Sharma looked good to score a double hundred, he lost his concentration at the score of 131 when he went for a pull off a short ball from Mark Wood, only managing to loop the ball in the air to be caught by England captain Ben Stokes at mid-wicket.
Nonetheless, despite losing his wicket for 131 off Mark Wood, Rohit Sharma managed to become the oldest Indian captain to score a hundred in international cricket.
Before Rohit Sharma, the record was held by Vijay Hazare, who scored a ton against England in 1951 at the age of 36 years and 278 days. However, the Nagpur-born cricketer bettered it in Gujarat, having amassed his century against the Three Lions at 36 years and 291 days.
Besides going past Vijay Hazare's 73-year-old landmark, Rohit Sharma toppled the legendary MS Dhoni from the second spot amongst Indians with the most sixes in Test cricket. While MS Dhoni finished with 78 sixes during his Test career, Rohit Sharma leapfrogged him with three maximums against England in Rajkot. His tally of sixes in the five-day format stands at 80 now. Former India opener Virender Sehwag occupies the top spot with 90 sixes.
It was Rohit Sharma's third hundred as India captain in Test matches, taking him past Kapil Dev in this department. At present, he sits in ninth place as far as Indian captains with most centuries in the longest format of the game are concerned.
Rohit Sharma's predecessor, Virat Kohli, tops the list in this metric with 20 tons. Virat Kohli is followed by Sunil Gavaskar (11), Mohammad Azharuddin (9), Little Master Sachin Tendulkar (7), two-time World Cup winner MS Dhoni (5), Bengali icon Sourav Ganguly (5), MAK Pataudi (5), and current head coach Rahul Dravid (4).
With his hundred against England in Saurashtra, Rohit Sharma took his tally of centuries in the World Test Championships to eight, leaving English skipper Ben Stokes and Australian opener Usman Khawaja behind. Both Ben Stokes and Usman Khawaja have seven tons to their names in the World Test Championships.
Only premier England batter Joe Root (12), Australia's top-order batters Marnus Labuschange (9), Steve Smith (8) and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (8) are ahead of Rohit Sharma in terms of three-figure scores in the WTC.
In addition to Mohammad Kaif, his well-crafted knock earned him rich plaudits from many former cricketers, including retired Indian batters Sanjay Manjrekar, and Parthiv Patel.
“The best thing about the knock was Rohit’s control while playing the ball off the backfoot. The field was set for the lofted hit and he played with control and scored lots of runs playing the ball along the ground. He only committed one mistake, on the ball he got out to, where he played it in the air, otherwise it was a brilliant innings. What we are seeing with Rohit Sharma is that he is adapting to conditions beautifully,” Parthiv Patel told JioCinema.
“Rohit Sharma knew that this was the innings where he had to get not just 20-30 runs but get a big one. When India lost 3 wickets the onus was on him staying there became greater,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
“Rohit took a couple of chances and was lucky to be dropped by Joe Root (in the slips). But after that he went back to the traditional method of mental toughness and that was something really admirable. Ben Stokes had the field in but Rohit held himself back from what comes very naturally to him. Him and Jadeja understood what was needed in the situation,” he added.
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