Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has showered praise on Rohit Sharma, stating the former Indian skipper is at the peak of his game. Rohit scored a decent knock of 57 runs in the first ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Sports Complex, Ranchi on Sunday.
Rohit scored his 60th ODI fifty and added 136 runs with Virat Kohli for the second wicket stand. The veteran batter had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped by Tony de Zorzi when he was on only one run.
The Indian opener also broke former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s record of most sixes in ODIs, going past his tally of 351 maximums. While Afridi took 369 ODI innings to hit 351 sixes, Rohit took only 269 innings.
Recently, Rohit also scored 202 runs in the three-match ODI series against Australia, including a century in the third game. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Series. Pathan hailed Rohit for improving his fitness at the top level.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “As for Rohit Sharma, he seems to be at his peak. It doesn’t look like he is 38, he has improved his fitness. But the way he is playing according to the conditions and batting flawlessly, the half-century only shows with what mindset he is moving forward. It feels extremely good seeing how these two players are progressing. Rohit was dropped once off Nandre Burger’s bowling but he batted exceptionally – whether it be playing on the up or pull shot.”
On the other hand, India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul scored a crucial knock of 60 runs off 56 balls to add the finishing touches. Pathan said Rahul is ready to bat at any position in ODIs.
“When you bat at No.6, it’s not easy, especially due to the change in rules. After the 34th over, you choose a ball that is slightly older to continue, so you don’t get a ball that is 25 overs older and you get a much older ball. It is a lot softer and it is beneficial to have a batter with a strong technique,” Pathan said.
“This is KL Rahul’s mindset, he is ready to bat at any spot. He started slightly slowly and sometimes the match can get out of the hand, so it will be a challenge to get off the blocks quickly. But he played an exceptional knock,” he added.
The second ODI between India and South Africa will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday.
