India batting maestro VVS Laxman has said that opener Rohit Sharma should continue to follow the template of his knock against England in the ongoing second Test at the Lord’s for future overseas assignments as well if he has to score centuries.
Rohit Sharma made a sublime 83 on day one of the second Test and added 126 runs with KL Rahul, who scored a brilliant century and is unbeaten, for the opening wicket after India was asked to bat first by England captain Joe Root who won the toss.
Rohit was dismissed by a beauty by James Anderson but had impressed one and all with his application at the crease and brilliant knowledge of when to leave the ball and when to play his shots.
"This is the perfect template for Rohit Sharma if he has to perform consistently in overseas conditions. I was talking about the transformation that Rohit Sharma had in his ODI career since the time he started opening. Even with his three [ODI] double hundreds -- there is a proper template he follows consistently and that is why he gets those consistent results and scores in white-ball cricket,” Laxman told ESPNCricinfo.com.
Laxman, who had also opened for India in Test cricket before settling down in the middle-order, said that Sharma should mark out the bowlers he needs to dominate.
ENG v IND 2021: Rohit Sharma rates his Lord's innings as the most challenging one he has played
"I think he has to find a template of how to build an innings. Because as an opener or as an international batsman, you have to have very good processes [about] how to build innings, how to convert starts into big scores, when to change gears. Which bowler to hit, which one to respect.
I feel this innings will be a template for Rohit Sharma going forward because whenever Sam Curran was attacking the stumps, he was not hesitating in playing his natural shots especially using his wrists on the on-side, “added Laxman.
He further mentioned that if Rohit Sharma continues to follow this template and plays to his strengths, he will eventually get hundreds in overseas Tests as well. The right-handed current India batsman has scored seven Test centuries but none of them have come overseas.
"Whenever the ball had to be left, in the corridor of uncertainty or even if it is an overpitched ball he was not looking to hit the ball on the rise or even hit that lavish drive. He is capable of leaving. So overall, it is a template on how he is going to bat in overseas conditions and I am sure he will eventually get hundreds.
As an experienced player, he understands that you are not going to look out for hundreds. You will follow the processes and do the right things consistently, the results will eventually come your way,” Laxman signed off.
(IANS inputs)
