Rohit Sharma had a forgettable outing on his Ranji Trophy return. Rohit Sharma returned to domestic cricket set up only to extend his lean patch with the bat. In his first Ranji Trophy match since 2015 against Jammu and Kashmir, he scored a meager three runs in the first innings and was dismissed for 28 in the second. Rohit's underwhelming performance came amidst the BCCI's mandate for centrally contracted Indian players to participate in domestic cricket.
Rohit has faced a challenging period recently, both as a player and captain. India suffered consecutive defeats against New Zealand and Australia under his leadership. His personal form also dipped leading to heavy criticism. It boiled down to an extent that Rohit had to drop himself from India's playing XI for the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney.
Despite his recent struggles with the bat, Rohit returned to the domestic circuit with a lot of hope. But nothing came to his avail. But besides his flop show with the bat in the clash against Jammu & Kashmir, something else caught everyone's attention. On the third day of the match, a fan breached security to meet the Indian captain. A video of this incident quickly went viral on social media, showing Rohit seemingly placing his hand on the fan's shoulder before security intervened.
The Mumbai team boasted a star-studded lineup, featuring players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Ajinkya Rahane alongside Rohit. However, the team's performance fell short of expectations, resulting in a crushing five-wicket defeat. After bowling out Jammu and Kashmir for a meager 120 in the first innings, Mumbai allowed their opponents to establish a significant 86-run lead. Although Mumbai managed to score 290 in their second innings, primarily due to Shardul Thakur's impressive century, the target of 206 was too small for Jammu & Kashmir to chase it down.
Jammu & Kashmir achieved a historic victory in the Ranji Trophy. Chasing a target of 205 runs, J&K successfully chased down the target with five wickets remaining on Day 3. Key contributions came from Shubham Khajuria (45), Vivrant Sharma (38), Abid Mushtaq (32*), Abdul Samad, and Yawer Hassan (24). The Mumbai lineup boasted six Indian players, including Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dubey, and Shardul Thakur. However, only Shardul Thakur made a significant impact. The reigning champions managed scores of 120 and 290 in their two innings. In contrast, Jammu & Kashmir amassed 206 and 207/5, securing a stunning victory over Ajinkya Rahane's team.