Sarah Waris was among the crowd at Ekana to witness arguably Rohit Sharma’s best ODI innings on a hot and sweltering day in Lucknow.
You could sense the excitement around India’s first World Cup game in Lucknow. The stadium had become a famous selfie zone for excited supporters, who came from far and wide with their young children. Most could not procure tickets but clicking photographs with the blazing Ekana floodlights in the background a day before the game allowed them to be a part of history.
Uber and Ola drivers can’t stop discussing massive traffic diversions with colleagues on their phones’ speakers, trying to catch a nap on long taxi rides amidst hectic World Cup schedules The attempt was thwarted. There was an enthusiastic atmosphere on game day, with fans lining up at least three hours before the game started.
It was not only out of passion, but also to escape the traffic jams that made it so difficult to get to the stadium. The stadium is located on the busy Shaheed Pass, a bypass road on the outskirts of the city. Due to numerous restrictions on private vehicles, fans had to walk approximately three kilometers to reach their respective entry gates. It was another long walk to get to our seats, but the view of the green outfield and goosebump-inducing national anthem was well worth the effort.
Rohit, batting first for the first time in the tournament, put up a rare performance but then switched to an aggressive approach which he consciously chose in the tournament, racing to 17 for 11 and sending fans into a frenzy. I was allowed to. His two overs from David Willie yielded 18 runs and just when a big score was expected, the conditions showed their true colors.
When the sun reached its peak and illuminated the city a little too brightly, the truck slowed down for the batter. Soon, it became all about survival as India lost three quick wickets and Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer fell to wide shots. Rohit had to change his game plan as he had to play cautiously especially against the slower bowlers.
The fans around him had to accept the change itself. With no cloud cover and no roof over the stands in the blocks below, the initial elation was replaced by the realization that we needed to conserve energy. Throughout the entire period of playing games in the heat. The food ran out quickly and all that was left was a mushy bel and a watered-down 200 INR thumbs up.
It took 71 balls for India to lose their form for the first time in the World Cup. Hardik Pandya’s injury left India with only five bowlers and they needed to score high scores. Rohit displayed extraordinary mental strength here, which was also on display in the second Test against England in Chennai in 2021 and the second Test against Australia in Nagpur this year. Ta. After a tough start, it was his knock that established him as an all-condition Test beast, but his 101-ball 87 in Lucknow added to his achievements in ODI cricket.
Rohit remained unfazed by the pacers, performing a classic trick against a wheelie and using his legs against a dangerous-looking Chris Woakes while dancing on the track. He turned Mark Wood’s 90 mph throw for 49 and slipped a slightly short ball over the ropes just after reaching 50 mph, the slowest in the World Cup.
His biggest test was against the Spinners. He had already achieved excellent results at the World Cup after his first four matches with a strike rate of 106. However, this was not a path he could pursue, so he resorted to playing with his fast hands instead. He played an inside-out shot, a late cut and a reverse sweep, then played the “shot of the tournament” in the 29th over against Liam Livingstone, dancing and flicking the ball before it turned. During the previous pass, the ball strayed far away from the opener, who stepped out and tried to minimize the rotation.
Rohit was countered by sharp spin and sometimes missed hitting the ball before it hit the pads. His control rate of 78 was lower than Suryakumar Yadav, who played a knock of 49 reminiscent of Suresh Raina’s innings in the 2011 World Cup semi-finals, but was effective and did not attract attention, but did not attract much attention from the crowd. Similarly, he also decided to stay. An environment that guarantees a magical end to a hot and humid day.
Rohit hitting the ball deep mid-wicket created a lot of buzz, with many saying the shot was unnecessary as he is nearing his eighth World Cup ton. Ta. The captain himself admitted that his team did not get the points they needed and that his sacking was at the wrong time, but he does not fault the intentions behind the goal.
When he returned to thunderous applause, he knew it was not the innings he had chosen, but the one that will be etched into World Cup history and fondly remembered. He had found a classic. No other batter had to face more than 60 of his balls in this game, and no batter got 50, further showing how patient he was.
That day, I suffered from a migraine that was debilitating, dehydrating, and caused a fever, and I had to take Monday off to recover. All this makes Rohit’s innings even more memorable. Because not only did he have to endure tough stretches on the red ground, he also had to brave scorching weather on his way to the victory show.
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