Former England spinner Graeme Swann was in awe of Rohit Sharma after the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain yet again played a free-flowing innings against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 contest in Abu Dhabi on Thursday (1st October).
The way Rohit times the ball to perfection and pummels bowlers of any stature all over the park captivated the audience all the time and he did it again in the last IPL 13 game between MI and KXIP.
On Thursday, the right-hander played a fabulous knock of 70 off 45 balls laced with 3 sixes and 8 boundaries to set the foundation for MI against KXIP. Later, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya got the finishing job done to take the defending champions to the match-winning total of 191 in 20 overs, while the rest of the job was done by their clinical bowling attack to win the game by 48 runs in Abu Dhabi.
With his brilliant knock, Rohit achieved a milestone in the tournament, becoming only the 3rd batsman after Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina in the history of the IPL to go past 5000 runs.
Following his another masterclass show, Swann, who is a part of the official broadcaster’s panel of the IPL 2020, has heaped praise on Rohit, saying it's an “absolute joy” to watch his bat in full flow.
Having watched India’s white-ball mainstay over the years, Swann pointed out that the senior batsman Rohit might not be super thin like he used to be years ago but he still has the great ability to get the job done with the bat both at the IPL 2020 and the highest level.
Swann told Star Sports in a post-match show after MI-KXIP match: “It’s Rohit Sharma (stand out player). He is beautiful to watch and you know he is going to come good. Even though he is not the super thin Rohit Sharma that he was 5-10 years ago, he is still doing it.”
The Englishman further added, “He is an old guard now. Most of these young guys would have grown up with posters of him on their walls, they are now batting with him. He is an absolute joy to watch when in good form.”
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Meanwhile, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also lauded Rohit, comparing the MI skipper to a pianist, saying: “He was taking a threat to his needle, such was his timing, such was his placement. Not a single shot where you could say he was not timing it. His notes were beautiful, like a pianist.”
On the other hand, Swann has predicted a “big, big IPL for Jasprit Bumrah” after his magical bowling show against KXIP, giving away just 18 runs in his 4 overs and scalped 2 wickets.
He signed off by saying, “Class is permanent and that's been showing tonight. He did not have a great start to the tournament. But even the best players in the world, trust me they need a bit of confidence. He will be brilliant now. I predict a big, big IPL from this point for Jasprit Bumrah.”
