Indian skipper Rohit Sharma failed to make a mark in batting friendly conditions on Day 2 of World Test Championship (WTC) final at Kennington Oval, London. In his seventh innings in an ICC final (ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and WTC final), Rohit has scored 147 runs from seven innings at an average of 24.5.
After Australia got all out for 469, Indian openers Rohit and Shubman Gill hit a few boundaries. With sun out and ball not doing too much on or off the surface, Rohit was playing himself in. But Pat Cummins' last ball of the sixth over trapped him in front of the wickets. The 36-year-old played down the wrong line and got out lbw. After a discussion with his opening partners Gill, Rohit chose not to review the decision.
Rohit scored just 15 runs from 26 deliveries including two fours. After his wicket Gill got bowled by Scott Boland. Gill shouldered arms on a delivery that crashed into the stumps. Similarly, Cheteshwar Pujara got bowled by Cameron Green as he thought that the ball was going into wicketkeeper Alex Carey's gloves. India were reduced to 50/3 as the top order failed to make a mark in first innings of WTC final.
What happened in previous WTC final?
In the previous WTC final clash against New Zealand, Rohit registered scores of 34 and 30 in first and second innings respectively. He played himself in but then lost his wicket. While he had a shorter stay at the crease at the Oval, he looked in control for a better part of the innings.
Poor form in IPL
His record in Indian Premier League (IPL) knockout games has not been great either. In 15 IPL playoff matches, he has scored 133 runs at an average of 9.50 and a strike rate of 89.26. He scored just eight runs against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023.
Rohit has struggled for form of late. He scored 332 runs from 16 matches at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 132. His form was one of the main reasons why MI lost their initial games.
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