Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel showered praise on Rohit Sharma for respecting the conditions in the second ODI against Australia. Patel highlighted that Rohit was expected to struggle initially, as there was moisture in the pitch but he did the right thing as he was patient in his approach.

The Indian opener scored a fine knock of 73 runs off 97 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. Rohit added 118 runs off 136 balls with Shreyas Iyer for the third wicket.

The veteran batter has all the experience under his belt and he made the most of it in the second ODI against Australia, but his efforts went in vain as India suffered a two-wicket loss.

“It was on expected lines, the way the pitch was playing. Considering the moisture on the pitch, the ball was going to move for sure. However, if we look at it from Rohit Sharma’s perspective, the one good thing he did was that he respected the conditions,” Parthiv Patel said on Star Sports.

“We have been seeing Rohit batting at a strike rate of 132 to 134 in the first powerplay, but here he knew that the ball was moving a little, so he had to give a little respect, and that it would get easier as he kept playing, and we saw that as well. That’s a sign of a great player, how you spend a little time,” Parthiv observed.

Patel highlighted that Rohit looked at his previous best when he played two hook shots for maximums.

“No matter how scratchy you look, you need to stay at the wicket. You will get a chance to play big shots only if you stay at the wicket, and that’s what happened with Rohit. He struggled, but as soon as he got short balls, he made the most of them. With the two hook shots we saw, it seems like the old Rohit Sharma has returned,” he elaborated.

The third and final ODI between India and Australia will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.