Rohit Sharma slams 161, India finish Day 1 on 300/6
Chennai, Feb 13: Rohit Sharma oozed class with an aesthetically pleasing 161 on a challenging track, helping India seize the initiative with a solid opening day score of 300 for 6 against England in the second cricket Test here on Saturday.
Ajinkya Rahane looked equally attractive during his knock of 67 off 149 balls and the two Mumbaikars added 162 runs for the fourth wicket, making it worth the effort for the 12,000 who flocked the Chepauk as Indian cricket welcomed its fans back in the stadium amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The key was to use good footwork. We had the strategy (on the sweep shot), we did discuss the game plan on this, and wanted to make them bowl to our strengths, good that the plans came off," Rahane said at the end of day's play.
A score of 350 plus in the first innings will be equivalent to 550 plus on any other track and Rishabh Pant's (33 batting) dangerous presence could also take India well beyond the magic figure on this track. At stumps, he had debutant Axar Patel (5) for company.
Rohit had scored six Test hundreds prior to this knock but he will be the first to admit that in terms of conditions on offer and the quality of attack he faced, the seventh one would be at the top of the list.
On a hot Saturday, Rohit did two things at one go.
Firstly, he put India in a commanding position on a track which was way more difficult for batting than he made it look with 18 fours and two sixes in his 231-ball knock.
Secondly, he put all the naysayers in their place by scoring runs when it mattered the most. The team is aiming for a comeback after a crushing 227-run loss in the first Test.
Joe Root was marvellous with his sweep shot during the first Test but Rohit was simply magnificent with his execution on a doubly difficult track on which he gave England spinner Moeen Ali (26-3-112-3) a lesson in controlled aggression.
The way Rohit put a big front-foot stride outside the off-stump to sweep deliveries off both Moeen and Jack Leach (26-2-78-2) will not be forgotten by all who were fortunate to witness the innings.
Rohit's defence was spectacularly solid and offence as assured as a safe house.
Knowing fully well that the track would start crumbling with the passage of play, Rohit attacked at the first go, picking 80 runs in the first session, something that will perhaps play the biggest role in the final context of the game.
It started with a cover drive off Stuart Broad and then there was a pulled six over mid-wicket off Ben Stokes.
While skipper Virat Kohli (0) was done in by a classical off-spinner's delivery from Moeen -- flighted outside the off-stump and enticing him to go for a cover drive only to find his defence breached.
If Rohit played those sweeps in a regal manner, Rahane was no less classy in his drives -- the front and back-foot punches off the pacers and those lovely cut shots off the spinners were delightful to watch.
Call it irony, Rahane chose a wrong delivery from Moeen for playing the sweep and was bowled in the process.
He hit nine boundaries in a half-century that came after a barren run of seven innings. This was after he survived an umpiring howler from Anil Chaudhary.
But then, he was destined to be in Rohit's shadow on a day when determination became his primary capital.
"It is a difficult track where you don't know whether to come forward or remain on the back-foot," Sunil Gavaskar, who knows more than a thing or two about batting on turners, said on air.
Leach was introduced in the ninth over and Rohit perhaps remembered his second innings dismissal in the opening Test.
He knew that Leach's main weapon was extra bounce with a slight turn. He met Leach's deliveries by putting the front leg across the off-stump.
This negated any chance of his off-stump getting exposed and he also couldn't be adjudged leg before.
Root had got Moeen for this match in place of Dom Bess, primarily because of the prodigious turn that is expected to be on offer.
However, the senior-most spinner made a cardinal mistake that happens out of excitement for all tweakers when they see cracks.
They try to go for extra turn rather than hitting one spot and letting the pitch do the rest.
It only helped a player like Rohit dispatch him with the turn.
It was only fitting that he reached his three figure mark with a sweep that got him two runs and also perished when he top-edged playing the same shot.
It wasn't the easiest of conditions but for India's 'Hit-Man', difficult has always been the easiest route.
Scoreboard at stumps on the first day of the second Test between India and England here:
India 1st Innings:
Rohit Sharma c Moeen b Jack Leach 161
Shubman Gill lbw b Olly Stone 0
Cheteshwar Pujara c Stokes b Jack Leach 21
Virat Kohli b Moeen 0
Ajinkya Rahane b Moeen 67
Rishabh Pant batting 33
Ravichandran Ashwin c Ollie Pope b Root 13
Axar Patel batting 5
Total: (for six wickets in 88 overs) 300
Fall of Wickets: 1-0, 2-85, 3-86, 4-248, 5-249, 6-284.
Bowling: Stuart Broad 11-2-37-0, Olly Stone 15-5-42-1, Jack Leach 26-2-78-2, Ben Stokes 2-0-16-0, Moeen Ali 26-3-112-2, Joe Root 8-2-15-1.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
