Rohit, the India Test and ODI captain who has been going through a terrible run of form, was the center of much attention in the run-up to the game as soon as he confirmed his presence in the game with a nod and “I will ” at the Champions Trophy team presentation press conference last week. Wearing a white cap and sunglasses, Rohit was relaxed before the match, joking with his teammates as they warmed up with some head volleyball.
It was a crisp winter morning in Mumbai, a relief after a week in which temperatures hovered around 30 degrees. And the J&K openers made sure to take advantage of the morning bite.
Rohit managed to drive a Nabi delivery through the covers for a couple in the next over, but was once again kept quiet by Mir, who got his reward on his 17th ball. He bowled a long delivery on the fifth stump, with a hint of movement away from the right-handed batter. Rohit looked to play his trademark shot over midwicket but only managed to get a lead towards the off side. Paras Dogra ran a few yards to his left from mid-wicket to extra cover, called loud and clear, and pocketed it to end Rohit’s stay in the middle.
The brief stay in the middle meant that Rohit’s meager career in red-ball cricket continued. In five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home last year, he had only a half-century to show for it, against New Zealand in Bengaluru, with four single-digit scores in ten innings. He also scored just one double-digit score in five innings in Australia, where he played in three of the five Test matches. He finished the 2024-25 Test season with a batting average of 10.93.
Rohit’s first-class batting average of 10.43 in 16 innings in the 2024-25 season is the second lowest for any batsman since 2006 (for a minimum of 15 innings while batting in the top six). England’s Haseeb Hameed averaged 9.44 in 18 innings in the 2018 season.
Before Rohit, Jaiswal fell. Nabi managed to hit his line drive against the left-handed batsman, getting a couple of balls away. One of them narrowly missed the outside edge of Jaiswal’s bat – no silent appeal was issued. On the next ball, the third ball of the third over, Nabi got a length ball to backtrack brutally; Jaiswal was caught off guard, hit on the inside edge and hit on the back leg, just in front of middle and leg. He was quite deep in the crease and it didn’t take long for the referee to raise his finger. Jaiswal, who was one of India’s most successful batsmen in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, hauled in 4 against his name.
After the close of play, Nazir, who took 4 for 41, said Rohit’s wicket was “precious”. “A good ball is a good ball against any player, you don’t look at the height of the player. But Rohit Sharma’s wicket is big, I am happy. When you dismiss an international player, it is always a precious wicket.” “There was some help from the surface, I tried to bowl in the right areas. Rohit Sharma is a big name and his wicket was important for us and for me too.”
“Last night I fell asleep at 10 p.m. and woke up around 7 a.m. and I was pretty relaxed,” Nazir said. “I tried to bowl longer because of the bounce off the surface. [When Rohit was dismissed] The first thought in my mind… I didn’t celebrate it because I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma. “If we manage to win this match, it would be a proud moment for me and the team because the Indian captain is playing in the opposition.”