'Getting a century at Lords isn’t everything, he batted brilliantly' - Sunil Gavaskar lauds Rohit Sharma’s knock in the second Test

The Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul impressed everyone with their performances in both the Test matches against England. Sharma, who was doubted for his abilities to perform in the overseas conditions, shushed the noise around him as his bat did the talking. In the Lord’s Test, Sharma fell just 17 runs short of his century and naturally seemed disappointed.

The former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that getting a century at Lord’s isn’t everything. Rohit Sharma scored 83 in the first innings and stitched in a century partnership with KL Rahul. He was heading towards his first away Test century but James Anderson dismissed him.

Gavaskar pointed that getting up on the Lord’s honors board isn’t always everything. He also asserted that if Rohit Sharma keeps scoring impactful runs the way he is, a century is just around the corner for him.

“If you get a player who can guarantee score 80 runs, then in a five-Test series, he would end up with 400-450 runs. What else does a captain need? Yes, he would be disappointed not scoring a century, but getting a century at Lords isn’t everything. You score a century at Trent Bridge or Leeds… if you score a century for India, in whichever part of the world that is what is important. And the way he is batting, the time he has, and the position in which he gets himself in, it feels as if a century is just around the corner,” Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network.

Sunil Gavaskar heaps praise on Rohit Sharma’s innings at Lord’s

Playing in English conditions is quite a challenge for the batters. Thus, Gavaskar was highly impressed by the way Sharma built on his innings by adjusting to the conditions. He stated that Rohit played the first hour of the game responsibly to understand the pitch better and provide India with a flying start.

“In a five-day Test match, no one has an idea as to how the pitch will behave on the first day – things like whether there is life on this pitch, will the ball bounce more? For that, you need some time and the adjustment Rohit Sharma showed in the first innings, how to do it. He did it brilliantly – what shots to play and what not. Just see how many balls he left, some of them close to the off stump. This adjustment is mental and that is what Rohit accomplished,” Gavaskar added.