Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik highlighted that Rohit Sharma’s century celebration felt like relief in the second ODI against the West Indies at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday.
Rohit was dismissed cheaply after scoring 32 runs in the series opener but he bounced back strongly in the second game. The veteran scored an impressive knock of 101 runs off just 75 balls with the help of 10 fours and six sixes and played a key role in India’s eight-wicket win.
Rohit added 255 runs for the opening stand with skipper Shubman Gill, who went on to score a majestic knock of 233 runs off just 133 balls. After reaching his 35th ODI century, Rohit did an animated jog with high knees, showing how relieved he was after getting to the personal milestone.
“When you can read between the lines when they are celebrating, you can kind of understand what they have gone through. That celebration felt like relief, it felt like validation towards what he is trying to do, and there were doubts cast about whether he was good enough to get there, or whether he needed to be there. But two hundreds in the last three games have pretty much put all those doubts to bed,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“I think it was about him putting a mark down saying, ‘I’m here, I’m here to stay. I want to show you all that I am still very good, and I am good enough to do what it takes to help India cross the line in 12 months time’. I do feel the Rohit-Gill partnership is definitely getting there in terms of how good they have been together. We are going to see a lot of these 2 batters together, and it will come to a stage in South Africa for sure where the top three and their form will pretty much decide how strong that Indian team is going to be,” he elaborated.
On the other hand, former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane said he really enjoyed Rohit Sharma’s animated celebration after reaching his century.
“It also shows how passionate you are about playing the game even now. Knowing Rohit, he will never respond with words, only with his bat, by performing and proving, and that is what he is doing. I really enjoyed his celebration today. I have seen different celebrations from Rohit Sharma while playing with him,” Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
The third ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at New Chandigarh on Saturday.
