Rohit Sharma, who has mastered the art of the pull shot is often seen using a variety of shots to score runs for Team India. However, Rohit Sharma has revealed that he’s been practicing the reverse-sweep shot for the last two years. Rohit pulled out the reverse-sweep against Afghanistan en-route to his record-breaking fifth T20I hundred.
India beat Afghanistan in the second Super Over at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India survived a scare from Afghanistan in Bengaluru to clean-sweep the three-match T20I series 3-0.
India posted 212 for 4 in the first innings on the back of a 190-run stand between Rohit and Rinku Singh with the India captain smashing a his fifth T20I hundred.
Rohit remained unbeaten on 121 runs off 69 deliveries, hitting 11 boundaries and eight sixes, while Rinku chipped in with a 39-ball 69 at a packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Afghanistan then levelled the score with half-centuries from Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib. The two sides scored 16 runs each in the first Super Over. However, India clinched the match after scoring 11 in the second Super Over and bowling the visitors out for just 1 run.
Most Player Of The Match awards by an Indian captain in T20is:
Rohit Sharma – 6.
Virat Kohli – 3.
Suryakumar Yadav – 2. pic.twitter.com/YLnj9g1BYL— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 18, 2024
Speaking to Jio Cinema after India’s win, Rohit said he’s been practicing the reverse-sweep for the last two years. With this win, Rohit went level with MS Dhoni to become India’s most succesful captain in T20I cricket.
Rohit working on Reverse Sweep
“I’ve been practicing that shot a lot. You have to play these shots if you want to put pressure on the bowler, when the ball is spinning and you can’t hit straight. That’s when you have to try something different. I’ve been practicing the sweep and reverse-sweep for the last two years,” said Rohit.
The India captain said he’s played the reverse-sweep in Test cricket before, insisting that it’s good to have options in terms of shot selection. With this win, India extended their unbeaten run against Afghanistan in T20Is to 6-0.
“I played the shot a couple of times in Test cricket. You should have options and it’s up to you how to use those options. The ball was spinning and gripping, so I thought it would be better to play with the spin rather than hitting it straight,” Rohit added.
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