Mumbai pacers Zaheer Khan (3-45) and Ajit Agarkar (4-41) gave the defending champions a good start by restricting Punjab to 242 for nine on Day One of the Ranji Trophy
Mumbai pacers Zaheer Khan (3-45) and Ajit Agarkar (4-41) gave the defending champions a good start by restricting Punjab to 242 for nine on Day One of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at Sector 16 stadium, Chandigarh yesterday. Now is the turn of the batters to deliver. Rohit Sharma, one of the key batsmen in Mumbai's line-up, is probably just a few innings away from getting back his form. And that launching pad may well come in this game. His coach Dinesh Lad too agreed when MiD DAY contacted him.
"This is an ideal platform for him. Nothing is wrong with Rohit at the moment. He just needs to be patient. Runs will automatically flow from his blade," he said.
Recently, a commentator in the Champions League T20 had commented that Rohit needs to score more rather than be satisfied with his quickfire 20s and 30s. "I don't see anything wrong in his technique. But he needs to be a little more careful in his shot selection," noted Lad.
He put the blame on excessive amount of T20 cricket being played.
Lad is confident that Rohit will make a comeback soon. "He too is very keen to be back in the Indian team. He is feeling positive about his batting," he said. In the absence of Yusuf Pathan and inconsistent Suresh Raina, Rohit would have been an ideal man to steady the boat in the middle order and ease some pressure off skipper MS Dhoni in the ongoing ODI series against Australia.
However, for that to happen, the dashing right-hander needs to get his form back. Rohit has been out of the Indian team ever since the four-match ODI series in West Indies in June.
Brief Score: Punjab 242-9 (Ravi Inder Singh 104; Zaheer 3-45, and Ajit Agarkar 4-41) vs Mumbai.
