India vs England | Rohit has proved himself in tougher home conditions

Despite making his India debut 13 years ago, Rohit Sharma is still not perceived to be a reliable Test batsman. In fact, thanks to the huge gap between his batting average at home (81.05) and overseas (27.00), he is referred to by some as a flat-track bully in Test cricket.

Consistent showing

In the last two months, however, the Mumbai maverick has evolved into a reliable opening batsman in challenging conditions. While he gave India a start in three of the four innings he played in Australia last month, February has seen Rohit consistently making a mockery of the England bowlers on spin-friendly tracks.

His 161 in Chennai in the second Test and 66 in the first innings of the pink-ball Test here have been instrumental in India making a strong comeback in the ongoing series and being on the cusp of qualifying for the World Test Championship final.

While a majority of batsmen from both the teams struggled to get their act together on excessively spin-friendly surfaces in the second and third Tests, Rohit appeared to be at his dominating best. Besides his aggressive mindset, his defensive technique against spinners has also been a standout feature of his performances.

Wrong reasons

At the start of the year, however, Rohit was in the news for all the wrong reasons. Having made a hasty return for the Indian Premier League Playoffs, Rohit missed the limited-over leg and the first two Tests in Australia.

Ever since landing in Australia after undergoing a rigorous rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and serving a 14-night quarantine Down Under, Rohit ensured he was back in shape in time for the New Year’s Test in Sydney.

“I knew once I finished the quarantine, I had just five-six days to get ready for the Test. It wasn’t the first time I would’ve had that much time to get ready for a game, so I knew what exactly had to be done.

“It’s not easy but a lot of people helped me get there. It was a good journey with a lot of learning personally,” Rohit said ahead of the third Test. The learnings have reflected on the ground, in far more challenging conditions than he has faced earlier in whites at home.

Thanks to his consistent outings — only two of his last 10 innings have been single-digit scores — Rohit has emerged as India’s highest run-getter at the start of the year.

India will be hoping that his run of form continues not just in the last rubber of the series starting March 4 but also for the crucial assignments in whites later in the year.