Rohit Sharma’s duck tale: Time, excuses running out fast

In the first innings, he walked in with India in a spot of bother at 136 for 4. The situation demanded composure and a certain degree of restraint. However, in just his sixth delivery, he went for a slog off the bowling of Dane Piedt. In the process, he ended up miscuing it, and handing a catch to Imran Tahir who was stationed at deep long on. Rohit was out for one. Under the circumstances — under any circumstances, in fact — it was a horrendous shot. Worse still, it came two balls after he was dropped by Hashim Amla. Former India middle-order batsman Sanjay Manjrekar summed it best while commentating on Star Sports: “Rohit is almost on self-destruction mode.”

Rohit has not done anything substantial with the bat this series. After being dropped for the two Tests against South Africa at Mohali and Bangalore, he returned in the Nagpur Test. On a vicious turner he registered scores of 2 and 23.

However, on a much better batting track in Delhi, Rohit failed to capitalise on a glorious opportunity to make amends and kickstart his Test career all over again.

In a desperate bid to help Rohit find some form, the team management promoted him up the order in the second innings here at the Kotla. As luck would have it, here he gets the perfect delivery first up. Morkel bowls a sharp delivery on the good length spot. Rohit is stuck in his crease and plays for the angle. Instead, the ball held its line and shatters his off stump. Rohit was dismissed for a golden duck. To be fair it was a superb delivery to face first up, and would have tested even the best.

However, his poor shot selection in the first innings would return to haunt him. If only he had curbed his instincts and grafted then, he would possibly have ended with at least one reasonable score this series. Instead, he now finds himself in the spell of wretched form, having scored a meagre 26 runs in four innings, running out of time and excuses.

Two years ago, Rohit kicked off his Test career with two back-to-back tons against West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Since the memorable debut, he has played another 15 Tests, in which he has scored 608 runs at an average of a shade over 22. The worrying feature is that in this period he has not scored any hundred.

More than his talent, questions are now being raised about his temperament and his ability to structure a proper innings in the long format. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar did his best to defend Rohit. “There are times, when some players take time to blossom. However, we make players aware about shot selection, whether tactical or technical. He (Rohit) is coming off a T20 hundred, an ODI hundred. He hasn’t really got to play lot many Test matches in a row. I guess you show more faith in a player, and give him successive opportunities and then assess him,” Bangar added.

In ODIs and T20s, Rohit gets going from the onset by playing lofted shots over the inner circle. With time, he has built his game on the lofted shots. This, in turn, is affecting his game in Tests. Manjrekar gave a plausible explanation for his reckless shot selection. “What goes against him is the manner of his dismissals. At crucial juncture (in the first innings), he is trying to hit a bowler for a six and getting out. His game is built on such lofted shots. The sixes are part of his DNA. He may have played a lot of them in other formats, but Test cricket is a different ball game.”

Over the last six months India has constantly tinkered with the batting line-up, in a desperate attempt to accommodate Rohit. Against Bangladesh in Fatullah, he batted at No.3, which was also the case when India played their first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. However, in the two subsequent Tests in the island nation, he was dropped to No.5. Then in the three innings against South Africa, he was dropped to No.6, and today, he was once again promoted to No.3. Clearly all this chopping and changing has not worked for India’s proverbial blue-eyed boy.