The Hindu : Sport : Rohit powers West to victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 04, 2006

Sport

Sport

Rohit powers West to victory

Vijay Lokapally

YOUNG TALENT: No bowler from North Zone could make an impression on West Zone's Rohit Sharma. — Photo: Sandeep Saxena

UDAIPUR: Rohit Sharma was not even born when Kapil Dev laid the foundation of the ground here in 1987 and big cricket took some time to descend on this venue that boasts of a perfect ambience as spectators dotting the boundary savoured some quality cricket, much to the delight of the organisers, keen to put up a decent show.

It was hardly surprising then that Rohit Sharma, 142 off 123 balls, powered West Zone to a thumping eight-wicket victory over a complacent North Zone in a crucial match of the Deodhar Trophy cricket tournament at the M.B. College ground here on Friday. This was West's third win in as many matches while North suffered its first loss in two encounters.

For 19 years the cricket officials of this lovely city nursed the pain of the World Cup preparatory camp being shifted on account of poor facilities.

It was thus a momentous occasion for them as Gautam Gambhir and Rohit hit centuries of immense value to their side, lifting the quality of the contest with their fascinating strokeplay and making a mockery of the North attack.

Impeccable

Rohit, who whipped 14 fours and three sixes, was impeccable in his shot selection. The ease with which he drove in front and played the inside-out strokes spoke highly of his batting potential.

Rohit was also not averse to allow his partner share the limelight but he exploded with a wide range of strokes when it mattered. Ground shots came naturally to this 18-year-old but he also looked at complete ease with his technique whenever he chose to loft the ball. No bowler made an impact on Rohit who was so refreshingly positive in his attitude, confirming his sound batsmanship. His flawless performance augurs well and the spontaneous pat on the back from some of the senior opponents as he completed the 100th run only reconfirmed the belief that on either side he was the most gifted batsman on view.

North had launched a planned attack through Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan, the latter hitting his second half century of the tournament. Dhawan played some rousing shots and Gambhir was his usual self, growing in strength to play an outstanding knock.

Poor fielding

Off-spinner Ramesh Powar did not lose heart as West fielded poorly, conceding runs and dropping catches. The pick of the lot was left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja who was surprisingly under-bowled. His four-wicket haul halted North's progress.

North made the mistake of indulging in an unwise rush for runs in the middle overs. It negated the splendid start of 134 in 22 overs by Gambhir (109 off 119 balls with 11 fours) and Dhawan (65 off 71 balls with eight fours and one six). Mithun Manhas slammed two sixes in his 28-ball 30 but the lower order failed to maintain the tempo.

In hindsight, any target would have been within West's reach, thanks to its batting depth. The cheap dismissal of Parthiv Patel put the onus on Rohit.

The scores:

North: G. Gambhir c Jadhav b Jadeja 109, S. Dhawan st. P. Patel b R. Powar 65, D. Mongia b R. Sharma 20, R.S. Sodhi c M. Patel b Pathan 6, M. Manhas lbw b M. Patel 30, P. Dharmani c & b Jadeja 18, Y. Singh c Thakkar b M. Patel 5, J. Sharma c Pathan b Jadeja 1, A. Mishra b Jadeja 2, A. Nabi (not out) 2, G. Vashisht (not out) 2, Extras (b-8, nb-2, w-5), Total (for nine wkts. in 50 overs) 278.

Fall of wickets: 1-134, 2-183, 3-200, 4-234, 5-261, 6-263, 7-265, 8-270, 9-271.

West bowling: M. Patel 7-0-31-2, A. Makada 5-0-37-0, S. Trivedi 8-0-50-0, R. Powar 10-0-54-1, Y. Pathan 10-0-51-1, R. Sharma 5-0-19-1, R. Jadeja 5-0-28-4.

West: D. Jadhav c J. Sharma b Sodhi 37, P. Patel lbw b J. Sharma 9, R. Sharma (not out) 142, J. Martin (not out) 78, Extras (lb-2, nb-3, w-8) 13, Total (for two wkts. in 45.5 overs) 279.

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-95.

North bowling: G. Singh 10-1-47-0, J. Sharma 6-0-39-1, R.S. Sodhi 5-0- 33-1, Nabi 3.5-0-27-0, Mishra 9-0-70-0, Mongia 7-0-36-0, Vashisht 5-0-25- 0.

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