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Opening salvo: Rohit-Gill showing how it’s done
Dubai: Rohit Sharma's aggressive batting pairs well with Shubman Gill's tempered style, creating a formidable opening partnership in ODIs.
Dubai: Rohit Sharma’s belligerent approach at the top is complimented by the tempered style of his opening partner Shubman Gill. Just as new ball bowlers hunt in pairs, the chemistry between opening batters is as crucial. As former India opener Shikhar Dhawan said: “Aankho aanko main baat ho jaati thi (We didn’t need words to send a message across).”
The Dhawan-Rohit partnership scored 5,148 runs together, the second most by an Indian ODI opening pair after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who totalled 6,609. Between Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the latter would whistle away, while Tendulkar made all tactical plays; together they plundered runs.
While batting together, Shikhar Dhawan not only did the mid-pitch singing of Punjabi numbers, but he would also up the ante in the Powerplay. Rohit Sharma would bide his time and set the innings up for many a monstrous total. Dhawan was Rohit’s opening partner in two of his three ODI double tons.
That was then. The current Rohit has flipped his batting template. He is now the risk-taker. The first to make the bugle call, just as he did by using his feet against pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi last week. He top-edged it for four but it was the intent that mattered. He managed only a 15-ball 20 but the higher strike-rate helps. In the game before, he had raced to a 36-ball 41.
Rohit’s approach sets the tone for the rest of the batting line-up, which is rich in quality and high on experience. On days when he manages to bat on, like the recent Cuttack ODI against England (90-ball 119), the Indian captain will finish the game for all practical purposes.
“Things have changed. It’s good to take those risks,” said Dhawan in his capacity as Champions Trophy brand ambassador. “We would only see it in T20 cricket before. Rohit has created a fearless environment for the team and other batters are riding on it.”
Together, Rohit-Gill have already clocked the fourth-most runs (1,974) in 29 innings as an Indian opening pair. Even though the sample size is small, their consistency (avg 70.5 and 6 stands of over a 100 runs) is top notch.
“The way we play the game in the Powerplay is quite different to each other,” Gill recently said. “Rohit bhai likes to play more aerial shots and tries to hit those big sixes. And I like to play along the ground, and I like to pierce those gaps. In between, if I see the bowler is under pressure, I like to go over the circle. I think that’s the hallmark of us as a pair. We score boundaries with different shots. The bowlers really have to think which areas to target for us, because the areas we play the shots are different from each other.”
It’s similar to Tendulkar and Sehwag. Sehwag was first seen as a Tendulkar clone, until he carved his own identity with cuts and pulls. By then, Tendulkar had evolved into a player who would play the long innings.
Two generations
The Rohit-Gill partnership is also a coming together of generations. Gill was still in school when Rohit struck his first double ton in 2013. Today, Rohit can’t stop gushing about his opening partner.
In theory, Gill should be setting the pace for the experienced Rohit to bat longer. But the upside of a longer Gill innings is so high, that the Indian captain Rohit prefers to keep a lesser premium on his wicket.
“He’s got a tremendous game sense,” Dhawan said about Gill. “His consistency and skill level is top notch. He knows when to hold back and when to unleash. At such a young age, to have the art of scoring centuries is great. I am very happy that one great superstar is on his way to create historic records.”
Even though Rohit is in the twilight of his career, this pairing is certainly one of the most watchable opening pairs in the game today. And that’s saying a lot.
