Shortly after the DRS drama, Rohit Sharma was seen showing Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal their fielding position in a manner that left them laughing.
Being one of the senior-most members of the squad, in the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma has been more than just a captain for the Indian team in the ongoing series against England. Leading a gang of novices, which only includes the batting line-up, Rohit has played the role of a mentor for the young players, whether guiding them during their knocks or while fielding. On Thursday, shortly after the DRS drama, Rohit was seen showing Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal their fielding positions in a manner that left them laughing.
It happened in the 39th over when Jonny Bairstow took guard against Kuldeep Yadav. Rohit wanted a fielder closer on the leg side. Sarfaraz has been stationed at the forward short leg for the better part of the series since his debut in Rajkot in the third match. However, the youngster was moved to a much finer position, somewhere between leg slip and short leg. And Rohit did that in the most Rohit Sharma way possible. He called Sarfaraz, lifted him up and then placed him in that position before marking it with his shoe.
This happened just a couple of overs after the DRS drama that unfolded over India’s missed opportunity to get Zak Crawley out early.
It happened in the 26th over of the innings when Crawley, on 61, looked to glance the delivery towards the leg side after it turned. The ball took the faintest edge of the bat and Sarfaraz dived to complete the catch. He began celebrating immediately, but there was a major confusion among the players on whether it was a legit dismissal.
Rohit quickly walked towards wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who did not seem convinced at all, but Sarfaraz kept pleading his case. Eventually, following a long discussion, Rohit opted not to review. The replay later showed spikes on the UltraEdge, leaving Sarfaraz with an ‘I told you’ smile at the Indian skipper, who then acknowledged the mistake and gave a thumbs up to the player.
India dominate Day 1 in Dharamsala
As far as the proceedings of Day 1 were concerned, it was India all the way. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav ran through England’s top and middle-order with a record-breaking spell of bowling before Ravichandran Ashwin, in his 100th Test, made light work of the lower order. India bowled England out for 218 after Ben Stokes opted to bat.
In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma gave India a rollicking start, which they have done so often in this series. Jaiswal became the second Indian batter after Sunil Gavaskar to score more than 700 runs in a series. The left-hander was out for 57 off 58 balls while trying to hit Shoaib Bashir for a lofted shot. Rohit (52*) and Shubam Gill (26*) made sure there were no further losses as India reached 135/1 at stumps, trailing England by just 83 runs.
This article is originally published on Hindustantimes.News!
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