OPINION: 46 balls shattered Rohit’s dream, the thorn that pierced him in Cardiff may now not come out even at Lord’s

New Delhi. I have known Rohit Sharma for almost 20 years, in fact, I have covered his entire career and got the opportunity to interview him many times and he always encouraged me. In this sense, there has always been a true mutual respect between us, the Rohit whom we saw opening the innings 13 years ago, the batsman whom we saw score 5 centuries in the World Cup in 2019, seemed lost somewhere.

What I saw of Rohit in Cardiff was disappointing. He faced 46 balls, but except for one six hit on Gus Atkinson, he never looked completely in rhythm. He also got a lease of life when Atkinson dropped his catch and the ball went for four runs. In fact, the last ten balls of his innings were all dots, three of which were against Will Jacques. Rohit, who is set and in form, never allows this to happen. You expect at least some of these balls to reach the stands but that was not the case in Cardiff despite all efforts, and it was painful to watch.

No comma, now it’s the turn of the full stop!

Will Lord’s be the last stop? Or can Rohit defy all odds and make one last spectacular comeback? How much mental strength does he have left to do this? And perhaps the more important question is, does he still have confidence in his game? Everyone who has watched Rohit closely throughout this series has praised his training drills. He has batted well in the nets, and the session in which he practiced in match-like situations was particularly intense. He has put in hours of hard work on his fielding and has also done a great job on his fitness. All this indicates that he was really confident of playing the 2027 World Cup. But in Cardiff, when I saw him trying to play a pull shot against Jofra Archer, I thought he was slowing down by a nanosecond. Twice the ball hit his body and once he threw the catch in the air, which was missed. This is the truth of the game. Even for a great player like him, things become difficult after a while, and even the hardest training doesn’t always translate into big scores on the field.

last battle at lords

Lord’s will not just be a test of skill. This will also be a test of his courage. Rohit knows how important it is to score runs, and in such times players like him do something extraordinary. One last shine, one last memorable innings. This cannot be understood only by logic. Sports have never been just a game of logic. This is what every Rohit supporter would like to see at Lord’s. Logic says it will be difficult, very difficult but when has the game been run only on logic? Giants are giants because they defy logic. They write their own stories. Rohit will have another chance at Lord’s to do exactly the same. This could prove to be a defining moment, and we can only wish that he gives his best in this potentially last decisive battle.