Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was disappointed to see how Rohit Sharma failed to make the most of his great start and convert his brilliant 83 into a double ton in the opening match of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday (January 10).
The 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winner further said that Rohit and Shubman Gill (70) could easily have reached 150-160, but they couldn’t capitalize on their stunning start in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.
Gambhir said that Rohit (83) could have scored a double hundred, but he missed the opportunity, and Virat Kohli (113) grabbed it with both hands and did what a great player could against Sri Lanka.
Notably, Rohit and Gill put on 143 for the opening wicket in 19.4 overs and gave Team India a great start, as they went on to post 373/7 on the board and eventually won the first ODI by 67 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Gautam Gambhir said on Star Sports: “Both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would be kicking themselves thinking that they could easily have got to 150-160. Rohit could have gone on to get a double hundred as well.”
The former cricketer added, “Rohit Sharma, I’m sure, would be kicking himself. It was a great opportunity for him to dominate the entire game because of the way he was batting. He could have gone to another double hundred if he wanted to.”
Gambhir signed off by saying, “Then, the lost opportunity was someone else’s opportunity and Virat took it with both hands. That is what top and great players do. They convert those starts and Virat has done and shown that.”
