Like the last 10 overs of Day 2 of, India openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill began the third day's play with an attacking mindset. They did not shy away from hitting big shots against Mitchell Starc, even why the tall left-arm quick decided to bang it in. On one occasion, Gill made room, exposed his stumps and flat-batted Starc straight down the ground. Rohit, at the other end, used a different ploy to counter Starc's short-pitched stuff from over the wicket. He resorted to his favourite pull shot. And it worked well. He hit Starc for a four and a big six in the 15th over. India, to an extent, hit Starc out of the attack as Steve Smith was forced to introduce left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann from Starc's end.
While all the boundaries were flowing from Starc's bowling, Nathan Lyon from the other end, was keeping the Indian pair honest. Rohit and Gill were not able to hit for a single boundary. In fact, Lyon foxed Gill a couple of times with his length and pace variations. Rohit, however, was quite comfortable in defending the off-spinnr off the front foot.
The Indian captain also crossed 17000 international runs and looked set for a big one. He was the only Indian batter to have scored a century in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He had done it in much difficult circumstances in the first Test in Nagpur. Compared to that pitch, this Ahmedabad track was much suited for batting and stroking through the line.
The only thing Rohit had to worry about was not getting impatient. In the last delivery of the 21st over, Kuhnemann bowled pitched one slightly short. The ball stopped on the pitch and took a little longer to reach Rohit. The right-hander, who was playing so fluently till then, could not control his bat speed. He went through with his backfoot punch and ended up providing a simple catch to Marnus Labuschagne in short cover.
{{/usCountry}}The only thing Rohit had to worry about was not getting impatient. In the last delivery of the 21st over, Kuhnemann bowled pitched one slightly short. The ball stopped on the pitch and took a little longer to reach Rohit. The right-hander, who was playing so fluently till then, could not control his bat speed. He went through with his backfoot punch and ended up providing a simple catch to Marnus Labuschagne in short cover.
{{/usCountry}}He screamed in joy as soon as he held onto the catch. He knew it. All the Australian cricketers knew it. Rohit knew it. The commentators and the good crowd at the world's largest cricket stadium knew it. This was an important moment in the game and one that would leave Rohit distraught.
And it did. He hung his head back straightaway and dragged himself off the ground after scoring 35 off 58 balls.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was doing commentary at that time, said Rohit would be kicking himself. "That's soft. Would you believe it? He has hit it straight to short extra cover. He will be kicking himself. He was batting so beautifully."
"The ball might have stopped a little bat," said Sunil Gavaskar in commentary.
Murali Kartik said Rohit would be 'disgusted with himself'. "Rohit will be absolutely disgusted with himself. It was a rollicking start. He was looking extremely comfortable out there. It was a short ball, he tried to punch for a single but hit it straight to Labuschagne off Kuhnemann."