The duo shared 190 runs for a stellar, unbeaten fifth-wicket stand as India came back from a flaky 22 for four after opting to bat first
Rohit Sharma, Rinku Singh between the wickets (Pic: @bcci/X)
Skipper Rohit Sharma produced a marvellous, situation-defying hundred, his fifth in T20Is, as India recovered from a top-order meltdown to post a massive 212 for 4 against Afghanistan in the IND vs AFG 3rd T20I on Wednesday.
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Rohit (121 not out, 69b, 11x4, 8x6) and his perfect sidekick Rinku Singh (69 n,o, 39b, 2x4, 6x6) shared 190 runs for a stellar, unbeaten fifth-wicket stand as India came back from a flaky 22 for four after opting to bat first.
The numbers might suggest a different story, but it was not one of Rohit's downright marauding knocks but he had to restrain himself for a good part of his stay because of the situation his team had dug itself in.
Even Rinku displayed his destructive instincts judiciously and that gradually-building crescendo was the trademark of their alliance. Rohit even had to bring out a rather rare shot from his arsenal, reverse sweep to unsettle Afghan spinners.
Such was their dominance that India posted as many as 36 runs in a single over as a helpless Afghanistan team looked on. Watch the video below:
Rohit Sharma 🤝 Rinku Singh
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2024
OuR’RR’ 😎 💪#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @ImRo45 | @rinkusingh235 pic.twitter.com/SfKSl07JoE
Rohit's whirlwind fifty blossomed into a hundred off 63 balls in no time, his first in T20I since his 111 against the West Indies at Lucknow in 2018, which came through a sliced boundary behind point off pacer Omarzai.
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This was also Rohit's highest score in T20Is, surpassing his 118 against Sri Lanka at Indore in 2017. At the other end, Rinku had the simple job of keeping his end up and the left-hander did that job with maturity.
Rinku, though, vented his belligerence when the opportunity presented itself, such as a flicked six off Saleem over square leg and carried on to register his second T20I fifty as the Afghans wilted.
However, the rest of the Indian top-order did not cover itself in glory in the IND vs AFG 3rd T20I as Rohit could not have anticipated such a breakdown from his frontline batters.
Aggression has been the hallmark of India's new T20 template but the approach has its own pitfalls, as it unfolded tonight.
(With agency inputs)
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