IND v AUS 2023: “Australians can take a leaf out of Rohit’s book,” Hussey impressed with Indian captain’s batting in first two Tests

Rohit has registered scores of 120, 31, and 31 in the three innings so far.

Rohit Sharma | GettyUnder Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, Team India are dominating Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home.

While India thrashed Australia by an innings and 132 runs in the opening Test in Nagpur, they won the second game in Delhi by six wickets.

Rohit has also played a key role with the bat as the hosts have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series. The right-handed opener has registered scores of 120, 31, and 31 in the three innings that he batted so far.

The Indian skipper’s success has also impressed former Australia cricketer Michael Hussey, who advised the Aussie batters to emulate Rohit ahead of the third Test, starting on Wednesday (March 1) in Indore.

“Obviously, the Australians can take a leaf out of Rohit Sharma’s book and have a look at the way he has batted so far,” Hussey said while speaking to the Telegraph.

“The way Rohit has gone about his job is certainly a good way to tackle spin and score runs in such conditions. The Indian batsmen have grown up playing on such pitches and so are more used to them. But it’s not really possible to bat exactly like how he (Rohit) has been doing. For instance, I couldn’t bat like Matthew Hayden.

“So the focus of the Australian batsmen should be on gauging how best each one of them can score runs. Each one has a different method of batting. So some should look to hit the boundaries and be more aggressive, while some should look to play the anchor role. Batsmen need to focus on their strengths and the strokes that yield them runs instead of everyone trying one particular shot,” he explained, clearly referring to the sweep shot.

Hussey also showered rich praise on Peter Handscomb's fighting knock of 72 not out in the first innings of the second Test.

“You also got to take into account that the ball kept really low in the previous Test (at the Kotla). Peter Handscomb did a fine job (72not out) in the first innings but couldn’t fire in the second. You do need some luck to succeed in such conditions,” he remarked.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 25 Feb, 2023

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