By Rahul Banerji
Many players/athletes call it being “in the zone”. For Rohit ‘The Hitman’ Sharma, it is being “in a good space”. Call it focus, being in the moment, hearing that little click in the head, what you like, but it’s obviously a productive place.
The closest one can come to describing this state of mind after so many years of watching sport, is like being in the eye of a storm. Where there is an absolute clarity of purpose, a total stillness that nullifies anything that has gone or is yet to come. Living in the moment is how some of the greats have described it.
For the past five weeks, Rohit Sharma has found an abode in this exalted area. And the rewards have been rich. A never-before five hundreds in a single ICC Cricket World Cup, 2,063 runs in the past year from 34 innings with 10 hundreds in all.
Even the god of Indian batting, Sachin Tendulkar, never found such an extended vein of form. Not even in that golden run at the 2003 ICC World Cup, which he mined for a soon to be rewritten record 673 runs.
Making hay
As they say of full-tosses, it is one thing to receive it, and another to take full toll. The Hitman already has some awe-inspiring records to his name in limited overs cricket, but the ruthless and single-minded manner in which he has cashed in at the World Cup elevates his run-harvesting to another dimension.
There was warning of things to come in the games against South Africa and Pakistan which produced 122 runs (144 balls) and 140 (113 balls) respectively. His partner, Shikhar ‘Gabbar’ Dhawan was alongside and the pressure was less, one could argue as Rohit had the luxury of playing himself in.
Once his fellow-opener departed with a broken thumb, the Hitman has climbed yet another peak, one that even his closest mates in the team would only have dimly glimpsed.
Shepherding Lokesh Rahul – and feeding him with comfort and confidence along the way – Rohit has taken the burden of run-making for India on himself.
More of the same
Against England in a massive chase, Rohit still held fast with a 109-ball 102 and then ratcheted it up with 104 (92 balls) off Bangladesh’s Tigers and on Saturday, 103 (84 balls) against the Lions from Lanka.
The only surprise – for a batsman with three double-hundreds in 50-overs cricket – is that there is as yet no really big century off that flashing blade.
This deluge of runs have come in full knowledge that India’s lower middle order starts after Virat Kohli, who is next in behind the openers. Vijay Shankar never showed why he was picked for that spot and replacement Rishab Pant cannot be trusted to control his impulses.
For the long push, there remains only Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In that sense, the pay-off for Rohit’s hand-holding came on Saturday with Rahul also getting a century against his name. No better time with just the semi-finals (against New Zealand in Manchester) and possibly the final at Lord’s to go.
Hot tip
It’s all to play for now, India having done all the hard work and finishing on top of the table. As Saffers skipper Faf du Plessis said after his team beat league-leaders Australia in Saturday’s late game, “I’ll probably say it’s an India versus England final.
“I think India and Australia are teams that play big games very well, I’ll back one of them in the biggest stage of them all.”
After Saturday’s result, Rohit would say, “My job is to keep my head straight and get the team towards the finishing line. When you are in, shot selection becomes very important, I try to calculate how I want to go forward, and it has paid dividends,
“You have to be disciplined in batting, and I’ve learned from my mistakes in the past.”
Clearly, the law of averages notwithstanding, the Hitman looks ready to carry on for a little longer.
Atwal hangs tough
And while on focus and good mind spaces, what about Asansol boy Arjun Atwal? On Moving Day, he may have had a double-bogey which saw him slip to a share of ninth place after a third round three-under-par 68 at the 3M Open , but he is still only three shots behind the leaders.
Follow the action here 3M Open
According to the Asian Tour website, the eight-time Asian Tour winner birdied twice for an outbound 33 though his run was marred by that double-bogey.
Atwal, who hit a course-record 62 in the Monday qualifier, then came back with three consecutive birdies for a three-day total of 12-under-par 201, three shots behind leaders Matthew Wolff, Colin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau of the United States.
Sunday next, with all to play for.
Also read: Bungling in Birmingham and some other stray thoughts
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