Rohit Sharma scents blood, won't be easily satisfied; MI great's dismantling of Pat Cummins ends long, frustrating wait
After a disappointing start to IPL 2025 season, Rohit made a remarkable return to run-scoring with two back-to-back half-centuries against CSK and SRH.
Until four nights back, Rohit Sharma was having a middling to poor IPL 2025. Six innings had produced just 82 runs at an average of 13.67; he had a highest of 26, and even though he was scoring at 143.86 with six fours and as many sixes, these weren’t the returns expected of the former captain, of the best batter in the team, of the man expected to set the tone at the start of the innings.
But each of Rohit’s innings had been larger than the previous one. Having started the tournament with a four-ball duck against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, he built up a slow head of steam – slow being the operative word. Eight against Gujarat Titans was followed by 13 against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the five-time former champions’ first win of the season. The numbers climbed steadily to 17 (against Royal Challengers Bengaluru), 18 (versus Delhi Capitals) and stopped at 26 in the home win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rohit was on the upsurge, even if the returns weren’t exactly humongous.
Form is a fickle entity in cricket as a whole, and in T20 cricket specifically. Momentum, that much abused word, can disappear just as quickly as it makes its presence felt. Rohit didn’t look out of touch, but he was out of form, without a doubt, if the quantum of runs is the yardstick against which form is measured.
When he didn’t overreach, Rohit still looked a million dollars, but only for very brief pockets. He was still one to be feared, but the fear factor was gently receding. A six here, a four there was all right so long as the damage wasn’t prolonged or sustained. But class will out, won’t it? It always will.
Rohit is nothing if not class. Reiterating the truism about the temporariness of form and the permanence of class, he has come into his own with the tournament gathering steam and Mumbai Indians gathering force. His last two outings, against CSK at the Wankhede last Sunday and SRH in Uppal on Wednesday, read 76 not out and 70. Off 45 and 46 deliveries respectively. Studded by 12 fours and nine sixes across. All of a sudden, the 37-year-old is his team’s third highest run-maker – 228 at an average of 32.57, a strike-rate of 154.05, with 18 sixes and 15 fours. To say that the Hitman is back – if he had ever gone away – will be an understatement.
Sticking to the process
One of Rohit’s great attributes is his immense belief in the processes he has outlined for himself. Given his ordinary start to the tournament, the temptation to veer from his natural grain and work his way back into the runs with caution, if not circumspection, might have been near-irresistible. But that hasn’t been the Rohit way, has it? Not since he assumed the all-format captaincy of the Indian team in March 2022? Rohit has placed great emphasis on leading from the front, whether as the designated skipper or not, and just because a big score was proving elusive, he wasn’t going to second-guess himself or shed the dominating, aggressive avatar that he has donned as a second skin over the last 36 months.
Even when the one signature knock that would have silenced wagging tongues wasn’t forthcoming, Rohit invested in taking the bowling on. He could have quietly got the job done against CSK on Sunday, with the target only a modest 177 on an excellent batting strip. He could have, but that wouldn’t have been Rohit, would it? So, he came out all guns blazing, laying into Khaleel Ahmed and James Overton with scant regard for recent form. He didn’t go looking to manufacture strokes, but then again, Rohit Sharma doesn’t need to do that. He has the gift of hitting good deliveries for effortless sixes, which is exactly what he did. He stayed in his crease, steady at the time of the ball leaving the bowler’s hand and quickly sized up length as the trademark pulls resurfaced with regularity. Stunning sweeps and crunching cuts competed for effect with dreamy cover-drives. For once, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was clueless as he attempted to staunch the bleeding.
Having scented blood, Rohit wasn’t going to be easily satisfied. Hence the lashing SRH received on Wednesday, with Rohit now in top gear. This time, there was a bouquet of fours that overshadowed the occasional six. Pat Cummins, especially, was dismantled. Taken apart. Cummins had dismissed Rohit the last five times the duo had locked horns. This time, there was only one winner – Rohit 70 off 46, Cummins none for 31 off three overs. Welcome back, Rohit Sharma. The wait has definitely been worth it.
