Rohit Sharma instills fear in the hearts of bowlers just like I did, asserts Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag believes that Rohit Sharma plays the same attacking brand of cricket he, himself, used to play for India, instilling fear in the minds of bowlers. Rohit smashed a brilliant 119 in the final ODI as India were able to chase down the target of 287 and win the final ODI and the series.
India have witnessed many great openers in the past but the kind of impact that Virender Sehwag had on the minds of the opposition bowlers was something unique. Sehwag was known for his attacking brand of cricket and though he did not have the greatest of techniques, he used to terrorize bowlers with his fantastic stroke-making ability and his ability to hit sixes and fours at will. Sehwag feels that Rohit Sharma had a similar impact on the Australian bowlers in the final ODI.
"Whenever a player of the caliber of Rohit Sharma has 3-4 poor innings with the bat, he himself thinks that 'I need to make my next inning count' and that is exactly what Rohit Sharma did. Even I used to think in the same way whenever I had a poor run of 4-5 innings," Sehwag said in a post-match chat show in Cricbuzz.
"The way he got out on 119 he generally does not get out that way but it was an absolutely fantastic knock from him. Whenever Rohit scores big runs, most of the time India wins the match," he further added.
Rohit backed himself to play his natural game and scored a brilliant 119 stringing a partnership of 137 with skipper Virat Kohli, who himself scored 89. India won the game in the end with seven wickets in hand and Rohit received the Man of the Match award, proving again why he is such a valuable asset to the Indian team.
"Whenever I used to bat I used to make the bowler think that 'If I bowl outside off-stump then I will be punished for a boundary' and that is exactly what Rohit is doing," Sehwag revealed
"What's more, is that he even hits the good balls for boundaries which further makes him special. So even the fast bowlers fear bowling with the new ball to him because of his ability to hit fours and sixes at will. If he negotiates the opening 5-6 overs, then it is very difficult to get him out," Sehwag concluded.
