Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has urged the fans to be patient and not get greedy after Rohit Sharma was dismissed early in the opening ODI against the West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Sharma scored 32 runs off 34 balls in the run-chase of 296. The Indian opener was put under pressure as Alzarri Joseph bowled nine consecutive dot balls to him. The veteran batter went for the aerial shot and was caught in the deep by Jewel Andrew.

“He batted well till he lasted; let’s not get too greedy now. One opener got a hundred, the No.3, the best in the world, got a hundred. Rohit Sharma batted really well; I mean, the shot he got out to, it is a shot that he plays really well. If I were with Rohit Sharma, I would tell him that you tried it 2-3 times; you did not connect at all. But it is Rohit Sharma. I know that he is kind of a guy who will be very sure of what he is doing on a cricket field,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“He will go look back on what he did; it could be something as simple as the weight going a touch too much on the off side, a small little technical thing. Once he gets that right, I am sure he will get going,” he added.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane backed Rohit to hit the same ball for a six in the next game.

“If you bowl the same delivery to Rohit Sharma in the next match, he must be like, ‘I will hit it for a six’. He is that confident. I think everyone should enjoy Rohit and Virat’s batting. I know fans have different expectations, but as long as they are playing, let them just enjoy,” Ajinkya Rahane said on Cricbuzz.

The second ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday.