Sunil Gavaskar praised Rohit Sharma for adapting to the situation and playing a patient, composed innings during the Adelaide ODI. After starting off slowly, Rohit scored 73 off 97 balls and was India's best player on the day.
00:00A much narrow encounter, this one in Adelaide, compared to what happened in that first ODA in Perth.
00:06India losing by, as I said, a narrow margin of just two wickets versus Australia.
00:11Sani Gavaskar joins us live on the program.
00:13Sahiwai, before we look at the various areas where India may have faltered and what is it that led to this defeat,
00:19let's address the elephant in the room first, and that is, of course, Virat Kohli.
00:23And why is it that we are talking about him?
00:25Because two back-to-back ducks, it's never happened in his long career.
00:30You know, he's played international cricket for more than a decade, has never had two back-to-back ducks in ODI cricket.
00:36So that clearly is unfamiliar territory for someone like Virat.
00:39What do you think has really led to that?
00:43Look, the man has got more than 14,000 runs.
00:47The man has got 52 one-day hundreds, plus, I think, 32 test-match hundreds.
00:52It's, he's scored, you know, thousands and thousands of runs.
00:56So he's allowed a couple of failures.
00:58Come on, he's allowed a couple of failures.
01:00So don't read too much into what has happened.
01:06There's plenty of cricket left.
01:07There's plenty of cricket ahead.
01:09Maybe Sydney will see a big innings from him.
01:12This, of course, Adelaide has been his favorite ground in Australia.
01:15At the test level, as well as at the one-day level, he's scored hundreds over there.
01:21So I think everybody was naturally expecting that, because it's his favorite ground, he will get a big one here as well.
01:28But that didn't quite happen.
01:29But what a wonderful ovation he got when he walked into bed.
01:32That was, you know, such a heartwarming ovation.
01:35Because the majority of the crowd were Australians.
01:37Yes, there were lots of Indians over there, but a majority of the crowd was Australians.
01:42And the Australians recognizing what he's done for the game, giving him that wonderful ovation was really, really heartwarming.
01:50So very interesting that you talk about that ovation, not only when he came out to bed.
01:54I'm going to talk about those images that we saw when he was walking out.
01:59When he got dismissed for a duck, he was walking out.
02:01Again, a loud chair there by the fans.
02:04And he waves them by.
02:05A lot of speculation there on social media, whether, you know, this is his time up in ODI cricket.
02:11Is he preparing himself for leaving this format?
02:13Or do you think we're reading too much into it?
02:15This merely could have been just bye-bye to Adelaide, his favorite venue,
02:18because he wouldn't probably now come back to TOR Australia.
02:21He's not playing test matches or T20s, and you're not going to have ODI.
02:24So probably still has his eyes on playing ODI for a long term.
02:28Surely can't be the end.
02:29No, it's not. It's not. It's not the end.
02:32Look, I think where he was going, where the players come down from, is where the member stand is.
02:38The member stand is where, you know, former players, administrators, they all sit.
02:44And I think it was he was just acknowledging the ovation that they were giving him,
02:49even as he as they would have been disappointed.
02:51Everybody, even the Australians would have been disappointed.
02:53Make no mistake that they didn't get to see a big score from Virat Kohli.
02:57And I think he was just acknowledging it with the gloves, was he was just acknowledging it.
03:03Normally, when you get a big score and you're returning back after getting out,
03:07you acknowledge it with your back raised or your helmet or your cap off.
03:12That is how you acknowledge.
03:13But I think this was just something which he was acknowledging the crowd,
03:17thanking the crowd for the reception and the ovation that they had given him.
03:22Don't read too much into it. Don't read too much into it.
03:25OK. I'm going back to that particular knock.
03:28And I completely am on the same page as you where you say that, listen, you know,
03:31the man's done so much in ODI cricket. He's allowed a couple of failures there.
03:34In fact, dare I say he's been Mr. ODI cricket for the longest time at the international stage.
03:39My question to you is that what we saw of Virat Kohli, of course, he's failed before as well in his career.
03:45There has been a lean patch, must have happened in such a long career.
03:48The one thing that I've seldom seen with Virat is an unsure Virat, is a tentative Virat.
03:53Now, I'm just looking at those 12 deliveries that he's spent on Kreeze, counting both the ODIs so far.
03:58He's looked a bit tentative. He's looked a bit unsure.
04:00That doesn't really happen with a Virat Kohli.
04:02Have you also noticed something like that?
04:04Is there, you know, I don't know whether it's the gap of five months that's causing it or all the chatter that's on the outside where, you know, he's been put on notice.
04:12What is it that is contributing to him being tentative? And have you noticed that, too?
04:16I think any batter brought up on Indian pitches and then going and playing in Australia or even sometimes in South Africa, the pitches have an extra bounce.
04:26And so it is only natural that the batter will be just a little bit, will take a little more time to get used to it.
04:32And that's exactly what was what we saw with Kohli in these 12 deliveries that we saw, basically trying to get used to the extra bounce.
04:40And that's it. Once you get used to the bounce, these Australian pitches are the best pitches to bat on.
04:46And particularly because, you know, whether it's a red ball, red kookabura ball or the white kookabura ball, it stops moving after half a dozen overs or so.
04:56And so if you can, if you can show a little bit patience and let the ball go and in a 50 overs game, you can, you can do that.
05:06Not maybe in a T20 game, you can let the ball go because with the kind of shots that both Roy Sharma and Virat Kohli have,
05:13they can play right around the dial.
05:15They can, they can catch up with maybe after a slow start, they can make up, catch up and, and, and get more than a runnable score.
05:24So I think that is exactly what he was looking to do.
05:27And that's exactly what he should be doing at Sydney as well.
05:30Start the innings as if it's a test match innings.
05:33Get your, get your eye in, get your feet going, get, get a measure of what the pitch is doing.
05:38And then, then you can start playing all the, all the shots that we know that he possesses.
05:44That's exactly what I would say, say to both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
05:48I'm not trying to look for any excuse to bail them out, but the fact that you probably have got the toughest
05:54or the most difficult conditions to tackle on both occasions, India have lost the toss.
05:58We know that batting first, that first one hour, both, and these are still winters in Australia.
06:04Summers really haven't set in this time, you know, you get pitches with a bit of juice.
06:07He's coming back after a long time and unfortunately for him, getting to bat at probably the worst time
06:13for any batter to get going.
06:15Yes, yes, you're absolutely right.
06:17You're right that the pitches are fresher.
06:20And so therefore there'll be a little more bounce in it, a little more carry.
06:24Even, you know, bowlers bowling at about 130 kilometers per hour were getting the ball to bounce.
06:30And, you know, the wicket keeper behind the stumps was collecting the ball with the fingers pointing skywards.
06:35So yes, it actually tells you.
06:36It's not going to be easy for anybody and particularly if you've had a gap.
06:41So we've got to allow them that as well, allow both these great players just a little bit aware.
06:46They might look as if they are not quite meddling the ball, but that is only because getting back on bouncy pitches is never easy.
06:55Sahiba, you were talking about that approach for Virat Kohli.
06:58Is that the same approach that you saw in Rohit Sharma?
07:01You were saying, you know, treat it like a test knock?
07:04Because Rohit, in the last couple of years, his strike rate has gone in the 120 range in ODI cricket.
07:10Today, we saw a very different avatar of Rohit and that clearly helped him.
07:14Yes, you know, bringing all the experience into play.
07:18They had lost Submangil early and then they had lost Kohli early.
07:22So clearly, I think it was required of Rohit Sharma to settle down a little bit and get the team to a good partnership.
07:32And that's exactly the way you need to play.
07:35When we played in India, the World Cup, or even the Champions Trophy, when he was opening the batting, he was looking to get the team off to a flying start, like a vertical takeoff start.
07:47But I think every batter realizes that, you know, your minimum score should be, even in a one-day game, you should be looking to get 100.
07:56And if you're trying to get 100, you'll get about 80, 90.
07:59You've done very well for your team.
08:01And that's exactly what Rohit Sharma is looking to do now.
08:04Not looking to blast the bowling in the first 10 overs and then getting maybe a quick 40, 40, 50 in 2025 deliveries, but looking to go much, much more.
08:15You just heard young SG say that he was very pleased with what he did.
08:20So if the young SG is pleased, how can the old SG be displeased?
08:25Okay, that is bang on.
08:26I mean, you and I never had doubt on the talent that Rohit Sharma possesses, but let's not forget that there has been plenty of chatter, especially after he was removed as ODI captain, you know, in terms of his long-term future in ODI cricket.
08:38I'm sure even if, you know, Rohit is a confident batter, confident individual, he must have heard of this chatter.
08:45It will, of course, affect any individual.
08:47What does this do to his confidence, this particular knock that he's played today in tough circumstances?
08:52What does this do to his confidence and also his near future in ODI cricket?
08:56Well, it does wonders to his confidence because, again, Mike Coley hasn't played any international cricket for about four or five months.
09:04So clearly, I think that's really big.
09:08That against Australia on a pitch which is not easy to bat on, where there was a little more bounce, he got a 70-plus.
09:14So that is definitely something that will raise your confidence and, you know, make you want to bat again.
09:20Carry on in the same way in the next game and the next few opportunities that come along.
09:26So, yes, I think any time you get a big score or a 50-plus score, it's always very, very good for the better.
09:33One final point, Zainabhai, on this particular match.
09:35Kundip Yadav, do you think India missed him today in this match?
09:38Had he been there, who knows?
09:40This narrow loss could have been a win.
09:41What do you reckon?
09:44Not too sure about that.
09:45Not at Adelaide because the square boundaries are really, really small.
09:51And he could have been a little expensive.
09:55So maybe no quibble with the selection, but I hope that he will play in Sydney.
10:01For the boundaries, the ground is big and the boundaries will be, you know, pretty big as well.
10:07So the batters will really have to hit him well to get the big runs.
10:13Zainabhai, firstly, you know, him moving out of the test court had raised eyebrows.
10:18And now he doesn't even find himself in the second rung, you know, the A-level, despite some outstanding performances in domestic cricket.
10:25I see he's averaging 100-plus in domestic cricket, but doesn't even find himself there in the second rung.
10:30What do you make of his non-selection?
10:33Well, yes, I think it would have been good if the selection committee had told why he was not considered.
10:42Hopefully they have conveyed to him, even if they have not, you know, said publicly why he has not been considered.
10:49Because only last year, he got 100 against New Zealand on a pitch where not too many others got runs.
10:56He got 140, 150.
10:58So he is capable of batting and scoring runs at the highest level.
11:03He hasn't really got the opportunities.
11:05You could say whether it was in Australia or England, he wasn't even in the squad, maybe because of injury.
11:12But whatever the reason that he has not been picked, which has not been made public, as far as, as long as he's been told why, and therefore he has the opportunity to get better from what, then that would be a good thing to do.
11:28So, about his ability, everybody has seen the runs, he has scored everything.
11:32So, hopefully the selection committee has been in touch with him.
11:36So, I must be wondering, whatever the reason, what must Sarfraz get better at?
11:41I mean, one is to score runs, which he's been doing consistently.
11:44I find there are certain players that average less than him in test cricket, but they are part of the squad.
11:49Currently, he doesn't find himself there.
11:50The other criticism was about him losing weight.
11:53Apparently, he's lost 17 kilos.
11:55Looks fit there.
11:56So, if he's scoring runs, is fit enough?
11:58What else must a player do to get back?
12:00Well, that's it.
12:01But that's how, you know, selection sometimes is.
12:04And sometimes, you know, you miss out.
12:07Sometimes, you know, like you say, only 11 can play.
12:10And then sometimes only 16 can be included.
12:13There are players who are good enough, but who don't always find a player.
12:16There's so many in the history of cricket, not just in Indian cricket.
12:21So many who are good enough, but who are unfortunately being born at the wrong time, accident of birth,
12:27where there were others who are as good or slightly better, who played for a long time, 8, 10 years.
12:32And therefore, you never got an opportunity.
12:35For example, you know, I mean, when you had Rahul Dravid, Sachin Pendulkar, VVS, Laxman, Saurav Ganguly in the team,
12:42who could come in in the middle order?
12:44They were there for about 10, 12 years.
12:46There were so many good players.
12:48So that's how it is.
12:49But hopefully, like I said, Ajit Agarthar has had a word with Sarfraz and told him why he's not in consideration at the moment.
12:58Maybe they just want him to play Ranji Trophy and get loads of runs.
13:02Which he's been doing now for a consistent amount of time.
13:05But Mr. Gavaskar, thank you so much for joining us.
13:07We're completely out of time.
13:08Would have loved to have carried on the discussion.
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