Rohit Sharma’s Aggressive Approach Signals a Shift in India’s Test Batting
In the first Test match between India and England at Rajkot, India captain Rohit Sharma signaled a shift in the team’s batting approach with his aggressive stroke play on day one. Rohit took the attack to the English bowlers right from the word go, signaling that the usually defensive Indian test batting line-up adopts a more aggressive and proactive approach.
Rohit started briskly, regularly finding the boundaries in the first hour of play. He did not allow the English bowlers to settle into any rhythm and kept them under constant pressure. Rohit played trademark pulls and hooks whenever the faster bowlers erred in line and length. He was equally severe on the spinners, using his feet nicely to get to the pitch of the ball and hit shots all around the ground.
Rohit notched up his fifty off just 47 balls, the fastest fifty by an Indian opener on home soil. By the time he got out for 80 off 78 balls, Rohit had already signaled that this was not the India of old when it came to batting approach. This new India was willing to take the aggressive route right from the beginning, be it Tests or white ball cricket.
Rohit’s aggressive approach is seen as India’s answer to England’s new ultra-aggressive batting brand popularly called ‘Baseball.’ While England has posted big totals rapidly with Bazball in the past year, India seems to have taken a leaf out of their book and is responding in kind under new coach Rahul Dravid.
This bodes well for the five-match Test series, as both teams have adopted an aggressive batting philosophy. More matches in the series promise to produce engrossing batting face-offs between the two line-ups. Rohit has made it clear through his batting that England’s aggressive batting will not bog down India but take the attack to the opposition.
The Rajkot Test has set the stage for a riveting contest between bat and ball, as both sides have decided that attack is the best form of defense. Rohit’s batting on day one indicates that we will see aggressive batting from India through the series as the team adapts to the new demands of Test cricket.
