Cricket fans brutally trolled Team India talisman Virat Kohli after he was dismissed for a golden duck in the third T20I against Afghanistan, setting an unwanted record in the process in Bengaluru.
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With his maiden first-ball dismissals in T20Is, Virat Kohli took his tally of ducks in international cricket to 35 – the most by an Indian player on the global stage.
Before Virat Kohli, the unwanted record was held by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who accumulated 34 ducks during his illustrious 24-year career.
In another setback for Virat Kohli, the Delhi-born premier batter failed to complete 12,000 runs in T20s. He needed only 6 runs to touch the milestone at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium but couldn't add a single run to his collection in Karnataka.
India captain Rohit Sharma, however, wasn't critical of Virat Kohli's failure in Bengaluru. Instead, he backed him as the 35-year-old showed his intent to score quick runs.
“We only need to give the players clarity about their position and the manner of cricket we want them to play with. The boys know what to expect when they come out onto the ground. As you saw today, Kohli tried to go hard from the word go, he normally does not do that, but he showed the intent. Same with Samson, he was out first ball, but the intent was there,” Rohit Sharma told Jio Cinema.
“See, I don't want to think about that right now. The 50-over World Cup is the ultimate prize for me, it's not like I don't regard the T20 World Cup and the Test Championship as important events. I grew up watching the ODI World Cup, and when it happens in India, the vibe is unmatched. We tried our best, but unfortunately, we could not win. The entire team was upset, and I am sure the people were quite angry as well. But now, we have an opportunity to win the T20 World Cup, and hopefully we win it,” Rohit Sharma added.
On Wednesday, Rohit Sharma broke Virat Kohli's massive record in T20Is.
With an unbeaten 121 against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli from the top of the list of Indian skippers who have scored the most runs in T20Is.
During his reign as skipper of India's T20 side, Virat Kohli accumulated 1570 runs – a tally overtaken by Rohit Sharma against Afghanistan in Karnataka. The 36-year-old now has 1647 runs to his name as captain of Team India.
The India captain's grand feat came after the Men in Blue found themselves in deep trouble at 22/4 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, having lost Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson inside the first five overs.
While Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened their count, Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson perished without troubling the scorers as Afghanistan's left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad was right on the money from the word go.
As Rohit Sharma and his boys had their backs to the wall, the Nagpur-born cricketer combined with Rinku Singh to take India to 212/4 in their allocated 20 overs.
While Rohit Sharma struck an unbeaten 121 off 69 deliveries, featuring 11 fours and 8 sixes, Rinku Singh remained not out on 69 off 39 balls.
In the process, Rohit Sharma went past Australia's Glenn Maxwell and his India teammate Suryakumar Yadav, who have four tons each to their names in T20Is.
With that, he became the first men's cricketer to smash five centuries in T20Is.
It is worth mentioning that Rohit Sharma had a contrasting series with the bat against Afghanistan. He lost his wicket for zero in Mohali and Indore but came out with a blazing hundred in the last fixture in Bengaluru.
After India's triumph, Rohit Sharma earned praise from ex-cricketer Rohan Gavaskar, both for his batting and captaincy.
“This is the format where your captaincy skills are really tested. If he has a higher winning percentage than MS and Virat, that tells you what a good captain he is. What I really liked about this innings is that, generally you say in a T20I game now – the template is to go bang bang bang from the word go. And that is the template that is set. But both Rohit and Rinku used their cricketing intelligence at 22-4 and said no. We can get runs later on but let's just give ourselves a little bit of time,” Rohan Gavaskar said in a conversation on Cricbuzz.
“If we lose a wicket or two here, we'll be 70 all out. We're 90 all out. So let's give ourselves a little bit of time, we have the ability to make up for it as the innings progresses. And they did, last five overs – 100. But this is a one-off. Normally, you want your teams to play in a different template. But to have that cricketing intelligence and the skillset to adapt and adjust and change your game, to what needs to be done, that is key,” he elaborated.
Rohit Sharma's century also drew a reaction from Richard Kettleborough who shared a video of the India skipper's celebrations after his ton against the Central Asian side.
“I have never seen a T20 Century less Celebrated. Take a bow Rohit Sharma,” Richard Kettleborough wrote on X.
His tweet triggered all kinds of responses from Indian fans, with some of them reminding Richard Kettleborough that he should not officiate in Team India's matches as the Rohit Sharma-led team is often on the losing side whenever he does that.
“You are the reason for breaking billions of hearts! Don't you dare to umpire in a match when India is playing! Stayy away from them,” a Team India admirer said in response to Richard Kettleborough's post on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Wife Ritika Sajdeh's post for husband Rohit Sharma following the India captain's record-breaking T20I against Afghanistan in Bengaluru went viral on social media.
After Rohit Sharma's on-field heroics, Ritika Sajdeh shared a picture of her husband on Instagram with the caption: “Special, just special.”
Ritika Sajdeh's special message for Rohit Sharma began trending on various social networks, including X, drawing a flurry of reactions from fans.
Ritika Sajdeh is perhaps Rohit Sharma's biggest cheerleader and is often seen supporting her husband from the stands.
Last year, throughout the ODI World Cup, Ritika Sajdeh was by Rohit Sharma's side through thick and thin, earning her rich plaudits from cricket admirers for her selfless support to the India captain.
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