Aadya Sharma was at Arun Jaitley Stadium when Rohit Sharma caressed his way to a brutally beautiful, record-breaking hundred against Afghanistan.
I won’t tell you anything you don’t already know about Rohit Sharma.
That doesn’t really make sense. We know the whole list: top-class white-ball hitter, generational opening pitcher, World Cup superstar, six-hit machine, yada yada. Missing words are replaced with numbers.
For 15 years, we watched him time the ball like everyone else. We all agree he’s great.
But Rohit’s greatness cannot be measured by the bullet points on his resume. He is one of a select few who stayed focused on the sport throughout his hideous journey of self-overdose. You may have seen him many times, but you’re still captivated by the familiarity of his style. It’s never monotonous.
The visual comfort it provides is unparalleled. Even the six-shot, literally the most brutal shot, feels like a feather in a gust of wind from your racket. He has seen her more than anyone else, but you are not tired of it yet.
Rohit’s punches have a magical charm that draws you into the television set. When you’re struggling through your toxically hectic life, you take a moment to look to the flow and there he is, floating in his folds, delivering with the utmost care. and throw it into the stand with a bat. It’s cricket ASMR.
However, no matter how many inches the screen is, a television cannot do justice to this art. In live motion, Rohit’s batting technique takes on another level of sophistication.
The bowler made a mistake and threw the new ball onto his thigh pad. shot. He skilfully glided from the hip, his bat gently but firmly redirecting the ball. It’s like using a soft-bristled paintbrush to paint a new, smooth wall.
Plane. Short ball (don’t bowl). Blow. Half on its front legs, half on its hind legs, it sways somewhere between two worlds. body pirouette. The bat hits the ball and sends it flying like a catapult.
Half volley, just within reach. Tziyin. arrow from a bow. The moment the ball hits the bat, it is carried in half a step, does not extend any further, and flies across the grass like a loose bowstring.
Angle the pad and clamp long on with half swing and half drive. The ball hits the widest part of the bat and slides toward the fence, where it is smothered by the closing blade. The point of contact is the equilibrium position of the swinging pendulum.
Watching Rohit’s every shot and other play live against Afghanistan in Delhi was a very satisfying treat. He was quick and ruthless, yet he was delicately beautiful. I can’t really define how he put all this together. There is no single metric that describes Rohit from a cricketing point of view. His punches are beyond normal limits. And when it actually happens right in front of your eyes, it feels even more intense.
The immediate sound is true and pure, the six notes hanging in the air, but still reaching far, and the extra “two seconds” that commentators rave about are clearly noticeable. You can feel as if you are actually there.
Suddenly, he adjusts his T-shirt at the waist, gestures animatedly towards his partner, and jogs back and forth with princely composure, typical of breaking your trance. We do all the plays. But sometimes he times the ball the way the cricket gods intended, leaving you completely dazed.
For all 34,800 people in the stands and a few in the press box, Rohit’s live performance was a symphony that made you want to shout “Encore!” It was Kohli’s greatest contemporary, and it washed away the mediocrity of days spent in previous years at a venue that averaged 22 matches.
This was far from Rohit’s best century. The surface was dead, the bowling erratic and the targets largely unimpressive. Also, he was unlike Rohit for most of the time. He usually grows slowly and settles on the ground before popping out. Despite some bad luck in Derry, he had little trouble coming out of his shell early on.
Some cute looks have caught your attention. Its charm will make you fall in love with it. His palms rested on your chin as he rode it with a reassuringly laziness. Normally, his ODI hundred of 63 balls would get your blood pumping. When Rohit does it, he calms down. Nothing wild, everything is sweet. He can cut fruit with a butter knife.
Wednesday under the lights of Kotla was a wonderful night. It was a cheat day on a strict diet. This sport has raised the bar of excellence and only the most extraordinary cricketing talents get to spend their time there. Amidst the fast-paced fine dining options, Rohit’s Batting is a comforting dish where you can eat to your heart’s content without feeling guilty about filling your tummy.
If you get a chance, watch him beat the flesh just for aesthetic reasons. Pull your seat back a little, grab a snack, and soak in your imaginary bathtub. It will be worth all your time and money. Also, unlike the game itself, there’s never too much going on.
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