Indian cricket team Rohit Sharma slammed a record fifth century to guide his side to a hard-fought victory over Afghanistan in the third T20I encounter in Bengaluru on Wednesday. It was a trademark innings from the veteran batter who showcased the full range of his explosive batting and his knock consisted 11 fours and 8 massive sixes. One of the shots that left both fans and commentators stunned was a switch-hit six off the bowling of Sharafuddin Ashraf. During the 12th over of the match, Rohit pulled off a spectacular switch off the spinner’s bowling to send the ball flying into the stands over deep backward point.
After the match, Rohit told JioCinema about the secret behind his shot.
“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.
“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,” he added.
Mastering the reverse ft. #RohitSharma
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The India captain became the first batsman to hit five T20 international tons as his unbeaten 121 off 69 balls powered the hosts to 212-4 in Bengaluru after they had slipped to 22-4.
But Afghanistan put up a spirited response as Gulbadin Naib hit an unbeaten 55 off 23 balls to steer his side to 212-6, taking two off the final delivery to level the scores.
The Super Over was also tied after Afghanistan made 16 and India got the same score as the situation brought back memories of the 2019 50-over World Cup final between England and New Zealand.
The final at the Lord’s had ended level even after the Super Over and England won the trophy on a greater number of boundaries, prompting a rule change.
India made 11-2 in the second Super Over with Rohit scoring all the runs off the opening three balls. Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi conceded just one run and picked up two wickets to seal the game.
(With AFP inputs)
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