'Next time I'll check where the camera is' - Rohit Sharma on abusing third umpire

It was the Rohit Sharma show at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot as the Indian captain pulled on his ‘Hitman’ moniker to help his side breeze past the target of 154 and assume parity in the three-match series.

Leading into the second T20I in Rajkot, the Indian captain had promised a change in approach towards their batting and Rohit ensured that he led by example. After having reduced Bangladesh to what was an under-par total of 153/6, especially after the start their openers- Liton Das (29) and Mohammad Naim (36)- had provided (60 runs in 7.2 overs), all eyes were on the star-studded opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

Sharma, who had been going through a lean patch in the shortest format of the game in the past few games, shrugged all of it off and made his intentions pretty clear when he tonked Mustafizur Rahman for two fours and a six in his second over before stroking Al-Amin for two consecutive boundaries in the very next over.

While he was ruthless against the fast bowlers; pulling, hooking and hitting them over their head, he dealt with the spinners with equal disdain, smoking Mosaddek Hossain for three consecutive sixes in an over.

Rohit Sharma gives his insight into the blistering knock at Rajkot

Speaking about his knock after the game in the post-match presentation, Rohit said that with so much of dew coming in, his main focus was to stay back in the crease and tonk the ball. “We knew with the dew coming in, it will be slightly difficult for the bowlers. We had a good powerplay and just carried on from that start. I knew the conditions were perfect. All I wanted to do was stay still and tonk the ball. It’s been very good so far and just wanted to finish it off on a good note. Looking forward to that,” Rohit Sharma said as quoted by India Today.

Besides his batting, Sharma was in the spotlight for his animated actions on the field. He went on to abuse the third umpire for giving Soumya Sarkar’s decision as ‘not-out’. However, he changed the decision later to ‘out’. 

“I’m quite an emotional guy on the field. Some of the decisions in the previous and some of the on-field moments today, we were a bit sloppy. Ultimately the aim is to get the job done, and sometimes we display a lot of emotions. Next time I’ll check where the camera is (laughs).” said Rohit.