On Thursday, India skipper Rohit Sharma created multiple records during his knock of 53 off 39 deliveries against the Netherlands. But surprisingly, he's being trolled online for his performance at the Sydney Cricket Ground which came in India's second game of the T20 World Cup.
While Rohit Sharma failed to get going in Team India's first game against Pakistan last weekend, he looked in fine touch against the Netherlands, as he went on to notch up his 29th T20I fifty against the minnows.
In the process, Rohit Sharma became the first player in the history of the sport to complete 3000 runs in a winning cause in T20Is.
The India captain also broke the legendary Yuvraj Singh's record for the most sixes by an Indian in T20 World Cup history. Rohit Sharma went past Yuvraj Singh after he smashed three maximums during his knock of 53 off 39 balls during India's Super 12 match against the Netherlands at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Before the match against the Dutch side, Rohit Sharma was sitting on 31 sixes while Yuvraj Singh's tally read 33. However, Rohit Sharma now has 34 sixes – one more than Yuvraj Singh in the prestigious tournament.
It is pertinent to note that these weren't the only records Rohit Sharma created against the Netherlands in Sydney as he became the joint-most capped player in the T20 World Cup, joining Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan at the top of the list.
The match against the Netherlands was Rohit Sharma's 35th appearance in the prestigious ICC event, putting him on par with Tillakaratne Dilshan regarding matches in the competition.
The Nagpur-born cricketer is the only Indian player who has participated in every edition of the T20 World Cup since the elite event made its debut in South Africa in 2007.
Despite the many feats he achieved during the game against the Netherlands, Indian cricket fans launched a scathing attack on him.
The country's cricket lovers claimed that Rohit Sharma only scores his runs against low-ranking teams like the Netherlands and dubbed him a “minnow-basher”.
Biggest fluke player 😂
— Yogesh (@YogeshOffl_) October 27, 2022
Real minnow basher
— Harry (@Harrythegreeaat) October 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/satvik__csk/status/1585539960769490944
Yes.he also holds the record of most dropped catches
— Shreyash Patil (@Shreyas20726416) October 27, 2022
70 percent of sixes came against Minnow teams 😭😭😭
— Tha7a Fan (@ExposeMSDfan) October 27, 2022
Luckiest player I've seen
— Chaitanya (@Chaitanya_22_) October 27, 2022
On the other hand, some even called him “lucky” because he succeeded in winning matches for India due to the spectacular performances of the likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
Meanwhile, Rohit dubbed India's win as “clinical” but also revealed that he wasn't too happy with his batting form.
“Lucky for us, we had a few days to get over that special win. As soon as the game got over, we came to Sydney and regrouped. We have to move on now, and the focus was on this game where we wanted to come out and get those two points,” the Mumbai resident said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“I thought it was a clinical win. Looking at the way they have qualified for the Super 12s, credit to them. We, however, always looked to what we can do with ourselves, not bother about the opposition. To be honest, this was a near perfect win. Yes, we played a little slow at the start but that was the conversation between me and Virat, we had to wait to play the big shots,” Rohit Sharma stated.
“Not too happy with my fifty, but what's important is getting runs – it doesn't matter if they are good looking runs or ugly runs. At the end of the day, it is about keeping the confidence up,” the 35-year-old added.
The Indian skipper's performance against the Netherlands was even liked by former India spinner Harbhajan Singh.
“We have had a complete package today. Suryakumar Yadav scored runs. Rohit Sharma scored runs with the bat and the captaincy was good as well. India bowled well, albeit against a weaker team. India played well and played at their general level and showed how strong teams dominate smaller teams,” Harbhajan Singh added.
“Rohit Sharma spent a lot of overs in the crease today and I believe that he will do better from here on. Rohit Sharma was responsible for India's outstanding cricket today,” Harbhajan Singh explained.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra though had a different take on Rohit Sharma's innings. The cricketer-turned-commentator said that while the India skipper's knock wasn't beautiful it was important for his confidence.
“It is a knock, it is not an MF Hussain painting, that it should look beautiful. Scoring runs is important, you get confidence by doing that. Ugly runs are actually very good runs,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“You know you are not in very great form but there are only two ways to fight, either you keep fighting or leave it and go, play a big shot and get out. Rohit Sharma is the captain, no one will question his position,” Chopra concluded.
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