Rohit Sharma names toughest bowler he's faced: 'Not nightmares, but watched his videos 100 times before going to bat'

Rohit Sharma names toughest bowler he’s faced: ‘Not nightmares, but watched his videos 100 times before going to bat’

Rohit Sharma is a modern-day great. There are no two ways about it. A fierce batter, a stupendous opener, and one of India’s finest captains, Rohit, despite a slow start to his career, has established himself as an all-time great. The only batter to hit three ODI double centuries, Rohit has never looked back since he was promoted as an opener. However, like every great batter, Rohit has shortcomings, too. For a batter with over 18,000 international runs, one would assume that nothing can trouble him. Right? Rohit Sharma is clean bowled.(AFP) Wrong. Rohit, on being asked if there’s ever been a bowler that has given him nightmares, played down the terms but named South Africa great Dale Steyn as someone he’s had trouble facing. Steyn, one of the world’s most legendary pacers of all time, let alone South Africa, was indeed one of the most fearsome bowlers. Outside of his pace, accuracy and swing, the intimidation factor generated by him is what Steyn one of the most unique fast bowlers of his time. And Rohit, who faced him up front several times, had no shame in admitting it. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! “I have gone and watched his videos like 100 times before I went in to bat. That was Dale Steyn. He is an absolute legend of the game. And what he has achieved in his career is just superb to watch. And I have faced him many times. He is quick. He used to swing the ball at that pace, which is not easy. It is quite tough. And he was a fierce competitor. He just went out there wanting to do everything, to win every game and every session, so it was nice to come up against him. Not that I had much success against him, but I enjoyed my battles,” Rohit said in an interaction with Dubai Eye 103.8. Dale Steyn dismissed Rohit Sharma just once in international cricket However, as strange as it may sound, Steyn dismissed Rohit just once in international cricket – at a Boxing Day Test for a duck – but the Proteas pacer bowled some memorable spells against the India opener. The one that comes to mind is when Rohit and Steyn came up against one another during India’s tour of South Africa in 2013. Steyn, with the new ball, was all over Rohit, beating him six balls in an over on the bouncy pitches of South Africa. The face-offs against Steyn came at a time in Rohit’s career when he was yet to hit his peak. By the time Rohit transformed into a limited-overs beast, Steyn was on the last leg of his career. This isn’t the first time Rohit acknowledged being challenged by Steyn. Last year, during an interview with Indian sports journalist Vimal Kumar, Rohit said the same thing. “If a bowler challenged me, and I had fun playing against him, it has to be Dale Steyn. He never deviated from the ideal length. He used to swing [the ball] at a high pace. There are a few bowlers who make the ball swing above 140 [kmph]”. In return, Steyn also had some nice things to say about Rohit, but his statement that he struggled to bowl against him is far from the truth. “I always struggled to bowl against Rohit [Sharma]. He is a phenomenal batter, leading the team from the front,” Steyn had told Star Sports.

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Rohit Sharma gets eye-catching mention from Preity Zinta days after quashing fake news about wanting him as PBKS captain

Rohit Sharma gets eye-catching mention from Preity Zinta days after quashing fake news about wanting him as PBKS captain

A little over two weeks after Preity Zinta dismissed reports of wanting Rohit Sharma as captain of the Punjab Kings, the PBKS owner took to social media platform X to describe the former Mumbai Indians skipper. Taking questions from her fans, Zinta called Rohit ‘a powerhouse of talent’, indicating that if she ever were to seek him as leader of PBKS, it wouldn’t be a bad call after all. Preity Zinta had nothing but praise for Rohit Sharma (Agencies) Rohit, captain of the Indian team, is a bonafide legend of Indian cricket. The only batter in history to score three ODI double-centuries and a winner of six Indian Premier League titles, Rohit has taken Indian cricket to great heights and then some since taking over as captain. In the IPL, despite being tied with MS Dhoni for the most trophies – five – Rohit is the most successful captain for winning them in a span of 10 years. A proven behemoth of modern-day cricket, one can’t help but wonder if there can even be a more perfect term to sum up Rohit than how Zinta described him. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Speculations are rife about Rohit’s future at MI. In December, the franchise removed him as captain and replaced him with the returning Hardik Pandya. And as it turned out, the move has backfired immensely. MI are languishing at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table and on the verge of being the first team officially get eliminated from the race to the Playoffs. Rohit’s own form has been a bit of a letdown as well. With 326 runs from 11 matches, including a century, Rohit has an average of 32.6 and a strike rate of 154.5. While he may be set to better his previous season, Rohit is still not on par with the standard he has set for himself and cricket fans all over the world. When asked if she would entertain having MS Dhoni aboard Punjab Kings, Zinta also spoke about her love and admiration towards the CSK captain. Reflecting on Sunday’s game, the actor revealed she underwent a bittersweet emotion as PBKS emerged second best in the return match-up. “Everyone wants him, and everyone is his fan, including me. Yesterday was bittersweet. I wanted us to win and him to hit some big sixes, but we lost, and he got out. The only bright spot was that our bowlers did so well in restricting them, but eventually, it was not enough,” she added. Zinta’s PBKS is one of the original eight franchises to have never won an IPL title – Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru being the other two. In 16 years, PBKS have qualified for the Playoffs just twice, with their best show coming in 2015, where they finished runner-up to Kolkata Knight Riders. The wait to land an elusive IPL title can be painstakingly long, but Zinta manages to keep her spirits high. “Trust me, no one wants to know that more than I do, but I believe we will win it one day… Hopefully sooner than later,” she wrote.

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Rohit Sharma's back issue resurfaces, suffers stiffness twice in 2 months as reason behind XI absence vs KKR revealed

Rohit Sharma’s back issue resurfaces, suffers stiffness twice in 2 months as reason behind XI absence vs KKR revealed

Rohit Sharma didn’t take the field during KKR’s batting innings in Mumbai Indians’ match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. While the former MI skipper did return as an Impact Player in the run-chase, there was no official explanation for Rohit’s absence throughout the game. It was only in the post-match press conference following MI’s defeat that veteran spinner Piyush Chawla opened up on why Rohit was not in the XI. Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (AFP) Chawla revealed that Rohit had complained of back stiffness and that he was used as an Impact Player as a precautionary measure. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! “He just had a mild back stiffness, so it was just a precautionary thing,” Chawla told the media at the Wankhede Stadium. Interestingly, Rohit had faced a stiff back issue during the Test series against England earlier this year, too; he didn’t take the field during Day 3 of the final Test, with Jasprit Bumrah taking over the captaincy. The match ended the same day, with India clinching an innings-and-64-run win to take the series 4-1. Against KKR, Rohit failed to make an impact as he joined the XI during the run-chase, scoring 11 off 12 deliveries as MI slumped to their eighth defeat, falling 24 runs short of the 170-run target. With the loss, MI are almost certain of elimination, with only three matches remaining in their campaign. The 37-year-old MI batter has had a mixed season so far; while he did score a century during the clash against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings, the knock remains his only 50+ score this year. With 326 runs in 11 matches, Rohit’s form is also becoming a potential concern as Team India gears up for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Rohit will lead the side with his MI skipper, Hardik Pandya, as his deputy in the marquee global tournament, which begins June 1. What next for Rohit and MI? With the playoff chances turning bleaker with each passing game, Mumbai Indians now rely on other teams to produce favourable results and win all their remaining matches to stand a qualifying chance. Currently at 9th spot in the table, all of the side’s three remaining matches are against teams placed in top four (Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Lucknow Super Giants). If MI are eliminated, Rohit and the side’s T20 World Cup-bound players (Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah) will likely leave for the Americas earlier.

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Rohit Sharma scripts history, becomes first Indian to achieve massive T20 milestone – India TV

Rohit Sharma scripts history, becomes first Indian to achieve massive T20 milestone – India TV

Image Source : AP Rohit Sharma broke a few records during his knock against the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024 Indian captain and former Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma scripted history in the shortest format as he became the first Indian cricketer to hit 500 T20 sixes in the most-awaited clash of IPL 2024 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday, April 14 at the Wankhede Stadium. Rohit with a six off Ravindra Jadeja in the 11th over having smashed his 43rd fifty in the IPL achieved the milestone as he became the fifth batter to do so and first Indian. On the same day, KL Rahul reached 300 sixes in the format in the earlier game between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Most sixes in T20 cricket  1056 – Chris Gayle (455 innings) 860 – Kieron Pollard (586 innings) 678 – Andre Russell (420 innings) 548 – Colin Munro (409 innings) 501* – Rohit Sharma (419 innings) Most sixes by Indian players in T20 cricket  502* – Rohit Sharma (419 innings) 383 – Virat Kohli (365 innings) 328 – MS Dhoni (334 innings) 325 – Suresh Raina (319 innings) 300 – KL Rahul (205 innings) Rohit also became the leading run-getter in the MI vs CSK fixture as he surpassed Suresh Raina after scoring just five runs. MS Dhoni equalled Rohit earlier after scoring 20 runs but the opening batter with an unbeaten century, left everyone miles behind. Both teams have locked horns quite a few times in the IPL as well as the now-defunct Champions League T20 and now that both are five-time champions, the rivalry has only gotten fearsome over the years. Most runs in MI vs CSK matches (IPL and CLT20) 837 – Rohit Sharma (MI) in 29 innings 736 – Suresh Raina (CSK) in 32 innings 732 – MS Dhoni (CSK) in 33 innings  664 – Ambati Rayudu (MI, CSK) in 33 innings  636 – Kieron Pollard (MI) in 25 innings Despite Rohit’s century, the Mumbai Indians failed to chase down 207 runs as Matheesha Pathirana’s figures of 4/28 proved to be the difference between the two teams as he kept pegging the home team back with regular wickets and no other batter was able to support the former skipper for the duration of the run-chase. Chennai Super Kings registered their fourth win of the tournament and maintained their third position on the table.

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