India superstars Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant flopped miserably on their respective Ranji Trophy returns. India captain Rohit was dismissed for 3 off 19 balls, Jaswal managed just 5 off 8 balls, while Gill was sent back for 4 off 8 balls in round six of the Ranji Trophy. Pant, meanwhile was out for 1 off 10 balls.
Playing his first Ranji Trophy match in nearly a decade, Rohit seemed completely out of sorts in the Mumbai vs Jammu and Kashmir Elite Group A match at the BKC ground in Mumbai. There was no sign of the free-flowing batter that once used to terrorise bowlers across the globe. J&K pacers Auqib Nabi and Umar Nazir gave him a hard time after Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first on Thursday morning.
After getting off the mark in the first over of the match with a single off Nabi's bowling, Rohit got stuck at one end, failing to get on top of Nazir, who constantly troubled the Indian captain with his impeccable line and length. One delivery from Nazir bounced awkwardly from the good length to hit Rohit in the arm. So precise was Nazir, the only surviving member of the J&K team that beat Mumbai 10 years ago in the Ranji Trophy, that Rohit decided to skip down the track to upset his rhythm but failed to make any difference.
In the penultimate ball of the sixth over, Nazir pitched one short and wide. Rohit, in an identical manner in which he tried to combat Pat Cummins' delivery in the first innings of the Melbourne Test, lifted his front leg and wanted to play the short arm pull shot but just like at the MCG, the ball got big on him and all Rohit managed was to sky it to mid-off.
Jaiswal, Gill also disappoint
{{/usCountry}}In the penultimate ball of the sixth over, Nazir pitched one short and wide. Rohit, in an identical manner in which he tried to combat Pat Cummins' delivery in the first innings of the Melbourne Test, lifted his front leg and wanted to play the short arm pull shot but just like at the MCG, the ball got big on him and all Rohit managed was to sky it to mid-off.
Jaiswal, Gill also disappoint
{{/usCountry}}Before Rohit's dismissal, Nabi gave his opening partners Jaiswal marching orders. J&K's highest wicket-taker of the season got one to jag back in from a good length to trap Jaiswal right in front. The left-hander, who got off the mark with a sumptuous square cut off the second ball of the match, was guilty of staying back to ball, which could have been combated had he put in a good stride forward.
In the Karnataka vs Punjab match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India's No.3 Shubman Gill disappointed on his return to Ranji trophy after more than two and a half years. Gill, who last played for Punjab in July 2022, was out for 4.
Elsewhere, Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 1 off 10 balls in Delhi's match against Saurashtra in Rajkot.