India's record annihilation of England the biggest win of Rohit Sharma's captaincy career

With players injured or unavailable for selection, Rohit Sharma led India to a famous win over England in Rajkot, one that could well be the most cherished.

Rohit Sharma and adversity are hardly strangers; if anything, adversity has shadowed the Indian captain like an obsessed stalker. Yet, Rohit has found a way around it, time after time.

Rohit Sharma leads his players off the park. (ANI)

Earmarked for his debut against South Africa in Nagpur in February 2010, Rohit suffered a freak ankle injury playing football minutes before the toss. That set his maiden Test appearance back by three and a half years, until November 2013.

After starting his Test career with centuries in his first two games, Rohit blew more hot than cold until, in October 2019 against South Africa, he was thrust into the role of an opener by Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri in Visakhapatnam. Responding with twin centuries in his first game in that capacity, the right-hander hasn’t looked back, stacking up runs and hundreds with the consistency a player of his class ought to.

When the all-format captaincy came calling in early 2022, it was no surprise. Rohit had already stamped his leadership credentials in both the IPL and international cricket on a stand-in basis, and he extended that to Test cricket with subliminal ease.

Rohit went to South Africa last December aspiring to become the first Indian captain to win a Test series there. Within three days, those dreams lay in tatters as the Proteas breezed to victory in the first game in Centurion. Just as India were floundering, Mohammed Siraj provided the inspiration with a searing burst on the opening morning of the Cape Town Test, orchestrating a two-day win that gave the visitors a share of the spoils.

This series against Ben Stokes’ Bazballing England, however, would be Rohit’s biggest challenge as Test captain. With their attacking mindset and unfettered approach, England would present the kind of examination India had seldom encountered in their backyard. How would they respond? Would India’s traditional methodology work, or would it buckle under the intensity of Bazball?

The first curveball came three days before the start of the series when Kohli withdrew from the first two matches (and eventually the series) due to personal reasons. The second arrived a week later, defeat in four days in Hyderabad after dominating the first two a reality check exacerbated by Ollie Pope’s reverse-sweeping, unchallenged 196.

By Visakhapatnam and the second Test, India’s problems had compounded immensely. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out through injury, Rohit himself was short on Test runs, like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. How would India emerge unscathed?

Through Yashasvi Jaiswal and Gill and the incredible Jasprit Bumrah, that’s how. A convincing victory, over to Rajkot, 1-1, the series in the balance.

Rohit's masterstrokes

If one thought the Vizag victory would herald a turning point, they were forced to think again. Jadeja was back but not so Rahul. With Iyer dumped after a string of failures, India put out their most inexperienced batting unit in a long, long time. Between them, Gill, Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar and debutants Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel had 29 Test caps. Surely, England would feast on this motley crew, especially with no end in sight to the skipper’s rut. Expected to carry India’s batting on his broad shoulders, Rohit had managed just 90 runs in four innings. Surely, he owed his team a few?

Rohit obliged, aided by slices of luck. The first was when Stokes called wrong and India batted first, a significant advantage that was thrown away at 33 for three inside the first hour. It could – should – have been 47 for four had Joe Root at slip not dropped Rohit, a straightforward chance with the captain on 27. That was the cue for the Hitman to resurface, Rohit punishing England with a delectable century during a stand of 204 with Jadeja that was to provide the first twist in a game of insanely fluctuating fortunes.

To go with a seriously depleted side and emerge victors by 434 runs, India’s largest victory margin in Tests, is a tribute to the belief within the ranks. Their 445 appeared inadequate when Ben Duckett thrashed them on the second evening, but India regrouped on the third morning when, even without R Ashwin, they slammed the door shut in England’s face. Rohit’s calming influence and his astute fields forced England into mistakes. Suddenly, Bazball didn’t appear flash anymore.

Few teams are better at twisting the knife when given an opening than India. Yet again, they showed why they are well nigh invincible at home. While this was a win of the collective, it was also a personal high for Rohit. To get his inexperienced bunch to play above itself and decimate the trend-setters in Test cricket - fantastic.