If a player of Rohit Sharma’s calibre could face pressure at times, the others should be a bit “easier” on themselves, said England skipper Jos Buttler as he hailed the Indian skipper’s much-awaited century as a lesson in modern and dynamic ODI batting. Facing intense scrutiny over his form and calls of retirement, the 37-year-old Rohit returned to form with his first century in the ODI format in 16 months to power India to a series-clinching win on Sunday.
“It’s probably a nice reminder for all of us that if someone of Rohit’s caliber can be under pressure, we should be a bit easier on ourselves,” Buttler said after their four-wicket loss here.
“He’s been a great player for such a long period of time and top players generally come up with the goods and he obviously did that today.”
“Any time you’re playing against great players and they’re playing an innings like that, I’m sure players on both sides will be watching and learning. He played a brilliant innings and (displayed) how he can go up and down the gears and absorb pressure, put a lot of pressure back on (the opponent),” Buttler added in full admiration of Rohit’s blistering 119 off 90 balls.
Rohit found his mojo right from the outset, taking on England’s new-ball attack of Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson before dismantling the express pacer Mark Wood and spinner Adil Rashid to turn India’s 305-run chase into a one-sided contest.
The England captain also lauded Rohit’s adaptability and said watching a player of his stature in action was a learning experience.
“He really showed (that) in this day and age, in the modern sort of way of playing 50-over cricket, it’s very dynamic, very aggressive. He scored at a rate just confirms really that the way we want to play is the right way that you have to play to try and win games in cricket,” Buttler said.
“The way Rohit played showed that the way we want to play our cricket is the way, the correct way to play cricket.” Once again, England got off to a flier scoring 75 for no loss in first 10 overs with Ben Duckett and Phil Salt making the most of the powerplay, before Indian spinners led by Ravindra Jadeja’s three-wicket haul seized the momentum. Buttler felt England fell short of a match-winning total.
“We, again, started really well. I thought Duckett and Salt played the powerplay brilliantly and got in some nice positions. We just needed one or two of us to sort of really kick on and play a real innings of note and maybe push our score up to 330-350 kind of territory,” Buttler said.
“But some positives (are) there, we’ve been making steps again in the right direction, but probably didn’t (put), not the perfect, complete performance with the bat. Credit to Rohit Sharma, I thought he played a fantastic knock. He’s set the standard in ODI cricket for a while and another great innings today,” he added.
Despite the defeat, Buttler counted on the positives in England’s approach and emphasised the importance of learning from such moments.
“Any time you don’t win games in cricket, that tends to be what happens. You just weren’t quite good enough for long enough. In the cycle of the team, there’s a few players who are just gaining experience and days like today are great lessons and that’s what you want.
“You’ve got to accelerate that learning and keep pushing the guys in the right direction. Like I say, we’re doing some things right. You always want to do some things better,” he added.
Buttler also acknowledged Joe Root’s crucial contribution after the senior batter top scored with a 72-ball 69.
“He’s been someone we always rely on, can play that role to bat a lot of time. He doesn’t face many dot balls, but he’s always scoring at a good rate and he’s a very consistent player. So, yeah, (he is a) really important guy in our team,” Buttler signed off.
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