The Indian cricket team kickstarted the three-match ODI series with a bang by defeating West Indies by 5 wickets. However, during the game, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and batting maestro Virat Kohli didn’t feature in the top order of the Indian batting line-up. In fact, while Rohit walked out to bat late in the innings and took India over the line, Kohli didn’t get the chance to bat at all in the match.
The Windies batters were buddled up for just 114 runs in 23 overs after Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first in Barbados. For Team India, five out of the six bowlers used by captain Rohit Sharma managed to get their wicket. Kuldeep Yadav, who won the Player of the Match, picked the highest number of wickets as he returned with the figures of – four wickets for six runs in three overs. Ravindra Jadeja also got rid of 3 batters for 37 runs in 6 overs.
Rohit Sharma Walked Out To Bat At Number 7
Shubman Gill walked out to open the innings with young Ishan Kishan in the chase. Team India themselves faced some trouble keeping their wickets intact as the wickets kept falling at regular intervals. After Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, and finally Kishan all went to the pavilion, Rohit Sharma walked out to bat at number 7. Rohit finished the job for his team with Ravindra Jadeja at the other end by hitting a four in the 23rd over.
Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat at number 7 and that too ahead of Virat Kohli received mixed reactions. While there were many who felt what Rohit did was a good move, others felt differently. Among many, a Pakistani journalist went on to call Rohit ‘selfish’.
Popular Pakistani journalist named Farid Khan called Rohit ‘selfish’ for batting ahead of Virat. He wrote:
“If you were captain and had to prove your selflessness, would you bat above a certain Virat Kohli with just 18 runs to win and 5 wickets down? Rohit Sharma came out to bat at No. 7 himself and didn’t send Kohli to finish off the match and hit winning runs. Beyond me! #WIvIND”
Check out the Tweet:
If you were captain and had to prove your selflessness, would you bat above a certain Virat Kohli with just 18 runs to win and 5 wickets down?
Rohit Sharma came out to bat at No. 7 himself and didn't send Kohli to finish off the match and hit winning runs. Beyond me! #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/zJhEIp2lFo
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 28, 2023
Later, after the match, Rohit shared his thoughts during the post-match presentation ceremony. He said:
“I made my debut for India and was batting at number 7, reminded me of those days,”
Sharma said that he wanted to give an opportunity to the other batters, especially those who were not part of the Test team. He said:
“We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this,”
