'Flat pitch hero' - Rohit Sharma's lean patch leaves fans frustrated

In what was deemed to be a crucial series against a supposedly depleted New Zealand, who were coming on the back of a whitewash against Sri Lanka, many Indian batters, particularly Rohit Sharma, would have been licking their lips to tuck some runs under their belt. But heading towrds the end of the home Test season, it has been anything but a smooth ride for Rohit. 

His most-recent dismissal came at the Wankhede Stadium In front of a venue filled to the brim to witness the local boy. Rohit got dismissed off Matt Henry in quite an uncharacteristic manner. Despite the ball holding up a tad bit, an in-form Rohit might not have closed the face on that sort of delivery. However, Rohit did just that as his opposite number snagged a catch at second slip. In what seemed like an innings where he looked set for a big one, the Mumbai-born star could manage only a run-a-ball 18.

His scores in the ongoing series read 2, 52, 0, and 8. The half-century came on a Bengaluru surface which had stabilised quite significantly after India were undone for their lowest Test score at home in the first essay. A top-spin off a forward lunge saw his innings come to an end, which could be considered slightly unfortunate.

Another dismissal in Pune which was un-Rohit-like was when he shimmied down the track and then looked to defend the ball. The extra bounce did it for him as a simple catch was grabbed by the fielder positioned under the lid.

The sparse run has had its ignition from the Bangladesh series which India won comprehensively. Barring his brief but aggressive 23-run knock in Kanpur, there was nothing much to show for Rohit in the three other innings he featured in.

With the daunting Border-Gavaskar Trophy to kickstart in November, time is of the essence for Rohit to get his bearings in place, which is what he would be aspiring to do come the second innings of India in the Wankhede Test.

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Here's how X reacted to Rohit's lacklustre run after his dismissal in the ongoing Test

Rohit Sharma better retire before BGT pic.twitter.com/78NHk1XjKP

— Prakash (@definitelynot05) November 1, 2024

Rohit Sharma is a good player, he just need a good batting coach who will advise him to retire from all formats😭

— Groot_18 (@18_groot) November 1, 2024

Getting out is normal, but look at how he’s getting out. Had no clue what kind of ball it is or how to play it. Way he is performing in test not a good sign.

— DigitalSanghi (@digitalsangghi) November 1, 2024