India vs Australia: Vikram Rathour, Ravi Shastri applaud Rohit Sharma for his masterful ton in Nagpur

Leading his team from the front, the Mumbaikar slammed his ninth ton in the red-ball format on a track which wasn’t easy to bat on.

Aussie off-spin duo of Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon were getting a lot of purchase from the Nagpur track and he had to work hard for his first ton as India captain but his gritty innings also ensured the hosts ended the day’s play on a positive note.

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A century from Rohit and half-centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have given India a first-innings lead of 144, going into the third day.

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Lauding Rohit’s innings, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour termed it a special knock and it was good to see him amongst runs.

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“It was a special innings by Rohit and it is a great feeling (to see him score runs). He showed good temperament and it was very important innings as the surface wasn’t easy to bat on,” Rathour said at the end of the second day’s play.

Rohit has played some fabulous knocks ever since he started opening for India in Tests. The three hundreds from his bat that stand out include his epic 161 on a Chepauk snake pit, a ton at the Oval and Friday’s knock on a low, slow turner against Australia.

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Speaking further on Rohit’s batting on the surface – where other top-order batters struggled – Rathour said, “That is the quality of his batting. He has got runs on seaming tracks in England. But if we talk about this particular innings, he was made to work hard for his runs. Normally, with Rohit when he scores his first few runs, he then pushes the score. But here he had to work hard.

Ravi Shastri hails Rohit-Jadeja partnership

As Murphy and Lyon rattled India’s middle order by getting rid of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat cheaply, the captain shared a crucial stand of 72 runs with Jadeja and revived his team from a tricky situation.

Praising the senior pros for their impressive batting effort former India head coach Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports, “I think that the partnership between Jadeja and Rohit came at the right time for India. I think they both realised the importance of that partnership. And you could see Rohit, even after getting to his hundred, it was as if he was taking fresh guard, and starting all over again. And Jadeja has improved over the years, he believes in himself and he is a useful contributor lower down the order whenever he is needed.”

Rohit Sharma temperament, skill

Rohit – who also joined an elite club of batters to slam tons across all formats as skipper – was also complemented by Shastri for putting up an exhibition of how to bat on such tracks.

“It’s a tribute to his footwork, his temperament and skill. He has played with his wrists, played late and he is never coming hard at the ball. He has played with soft hands. (This is) A great example of how to bat on this pitch. Because of the time he has, he can play both spin and pace with good effect. And when he wants to hit, he can go big,” the former India captain added further.

Rohit is only the fourth male cricketer after Babar Azam, Faf du Plessis and Tillakaratne Dilshan to have slammed a ton across all formats as captain.

(With PTI inputs)