Nobody laments the decrease in ODI cricket between the
previous World Cup and this one. They are not to be blamed. However, it is
unfortunate that we could occasionally miss out on noticing transformative
works of art since 50-over cricket is played so infrequently, and much less so
by the top players. One of those might be Rohit Sharma’s development after
taking over as the permanent captain of India’s ODI team.
But during a World Cup, everybody pays attention.
After the duck in the opening game versus Australia under challenging
circumstances, Rohit has all but ended two games inside the first powerplay. He
hit 45 off 30 against Pakistan and 76 off 43 in the first 10 overs against
Afghanistan. This was not accidental, as it is with everything he does.
This new and aggressive Rohit Sharma has been around
the scene for quite a while now. He is one of only three players to score at a
strike rate of over a 100. While Travis Head and Phil Salt have a higher strike
rate than the Indian skipper, neither come close to the volume of runs scored.
It says a lot that this new revolution in the way
India bat is pioneered by Rohit. After all, he is again only 1 of 3 captains
who merrily smash anyone and everyone in the powerplay- Baz in 2015 and Gayle
in 2009.
In the first ten overs from 2010 to 2015, McCullum
scored at 163, and Gayle did so at 117. But that’s just how they are. Rohit has
used a different approach. His obsession with not being dismissed within the
first 20 balls, coupled with a gradual increase in speed before an explosive
final stretch, was the catalyst for his career comeback. He has altered his
batting approach completely. Not only has he modified it, but even more
astonishingly, he persevered despite failure when he first tried to make the
modification.
It is obviously a change in strategy, though. India’s
batting powerplay overrate increased from 4.44 an over in 2019 to 4.83 and 6.27
in 2022 and 2023, respectively. There was hardly any ODI cricket in the years
2020 and 2021. Prior to the 2019 World Cup, India had only scored more than
five runs per over in one year since 2012, which also happened to be the year
Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli joined forces as their top three and
took control of the run-scoring till the World Cup.
It is more likely just about Rohit leading by example
in order to earn the right to demand higher intent from others, but in doing so
he has looked sensational. However, you do feel like asking why it took him,
and India, so long.