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Cricket Players‘You’re on your own’: When Aaron Finch asked umpire how to break Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma stand
When batting together, Kohli and Rohit always put on a show for the fans, and have a tendency to tire out the bowlers from the opposition team. In an encounter against Australia, skipper Aaron Finch was left puzzled on how to get them out and sought umpire’s advice.
If there is any doubt the kind of pressure India captain Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma put on the opposition, a story revealed by umpire Michael Gough clears them out completely. Virat and Rohit are two pillars of India’s top order and their batting style compliment each other. The duo have often stitched sensational partnerships on the field, some of which have proven to be match-winning for India. When batting together, Kohli and Rohit always put on a show for the fans, and have a tendency to tire out the bowlers from the opposition teams.
England umpire Gough, who was officiating an encounter between India and Australia revealed that Aussie skipper Aaron Finch came up to him and asked him how to break Kohli-Rohit partnership during a match. While Gough was an experienced cricketer in his playing days, having featured in 67 first-class games for Durham, he told Finch that he was on his own on this one.
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“I remember a match between India and Australia, and Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were putting on a huge partnership,” Gough told Wisden Cricket Monthly. “I was stood next to Aaron Finch at square-leg and he said to me, during the game, how it was unbelievable to watch these two great players.
“Then he asked me how I would bowl at them! I looked at him and said, ‘I’ve got enough on my plate, you’re on your own there’,” he said.
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While Gough did not mention which match was he was talking about, it could be the third ODI between India and Australia in Bengaluru which took place in January this year, in which Gough was one of two umpires on the field. In the match, Kohli scored 89 runs while Rohit scored 119.
The duo had stitched a 137-run match winning partnership for the second wicket and had helped India in chasing down the target of 286 to claim a seven-wicket win and seal the series 2-1.
(With PTI inputs)
