India‘s captain, Rohit Sharma, took to bowling in the ongoing second ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Sunday, August 4. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. At 147/6 after 37 overs, Sharma decided to bowl to alter the game’s dynamics. With two left-handed batsmen in, Sharma relied on his part-time off-spin to make an impact.
The 37-year-old had a solid start, allowing just six runs in his first over and following up with another effective over, conceding five runs.
Rohit Sharma this series:
Batting ✅
Bowling ✅
Captaincy ✅Watch #SLvIND 2nd ODI LIVE NOW on #SonyLIV 🍿 pic.twitter.com/qBIl1vNwsU
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) August 4, 2024
Despite not bowling much lately, Rohit Sharma continues to demonstrate bowling prowess. He was once an effective bowler at the beginning of his career and even claimed a hat-trick during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Significantly, Sharma has not played any international one-day matches since October 2023. In his first match, which was an introductory one-day international (ODI), he scored well – 58 runs off 47 balls. Both sides totaled 230 runs in their innings ending at par score.
“When it comes to my batting, I’ll have it on my mind”- Rohit Sharma
In the second ODI held during this series, Rohit Sharma did bowl but had indicated earlier that he may not want to do so because of the numerous bowling alternatives available in India’s squad.
Before the first ODI, Sharma mentioned at the toss that it was unlikely he would bowl, as he preferred to focus solely on his batting. He said:
“Not really (on chances of him bowling), I will focus on my batting. We have enough bowlers in the squad that can roll their arm over.”
India’s new team management is aimed towards promoting their batters to bowl a few overs headed by Gautam Gambhir as the head coach. Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav bowled essential 19th and 20th overs respectively during the last match of the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
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