Rohit Sharma on opening in Tests in 2019: Knew it was my last chance

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma on Saturday said he knew that the decision of opening the batting in Test matches back in 2019 was his last chance to prove his mettle in the longest format of the gameRohit Sharma scored his first overseas Test ton on Saturday as India ended day three of the ongoing fourth Test at 2703In the back of my mind I knew it was the last chance for me as well trying another position in the batting order When the offer came to open the batting I was very much aware of it because the talks were happening within the management about me opening the innings at some stage Rohit said in a virtual press conference after the end of the days playSo mentally I was ready to take on that challenge to see if I could do well up the order I know I batted in the middle order before and things didnt turn out the way I wanted to but I knew this was going to be my last opportunity you know trying whatever the management is thinking he saidWhen you are playing a sport you always have to take those chances those risks Yeah you can say that it was my last opportunity if I hadnt succeeded anything could have happened he addedFurther elaborating his point Rohit pointed out that it was him who thought the chance of opening the batting was his last attempt to prove his worth in TestAnd to say that in 2019 that was my last chance it was my feeling I dont know about the others and the team management because the team management clearly told me youll have a long run when you open the innings said RohitAlso Read Tokyo Paralympics Krishna Nagar wins Indias second gold in badmintonBut for me I wanted to think in a way where this is it I have to make good use of this opportunity ODI and Tests have a massive difference I focused a lot on being disciplined off the field in nets whether it is about leaving the ball or doing a solid tight defense he addedRohit 127 off 256 also became the first visiting cricketer to hit tons in all three formats while opening in England The Indian batsman completed 3000 runs in the longest format of the game on SaturdayMost pleasing thing was that I was able to pay 250 balls If you look at all the Test matches this series I have nearly played 100 balls in every innings That to me was a goal said RohitThe first goal was to play balls see how I can stay on the pitch for as long as possible because we do know that things start to get easier when you spend time in the middle when you see what the bowlers are doing and get the hang of it and get the feel of the entire situation Spending time in the middle was the biggest takeaway for me in the four Test matches he signed offAlso Read Raghunath Chandorkar Indiarsquos oldest firstclass cricketer passes away at 100This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever