Having already gained an unassailable 3-1 lead, India will take England on in the fifth and final Test match of the series. After a riveting Test match in Ranchi, the action will now move to the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. In the absence of several key figures like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, and Rishabh Pant, India captain Rohit Sharma has led this young squad admirably. After a shock defeat in the first Test in Hyderabad, the manner in which the hosts have bounced back and delivered in adversity is something that will be remembered for generations.
While youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel, and Sarfaraz Khan have certainly shone with the bat and shown incredible composure in tough situations, Rohit Sharma has dispelled doubts about his longevity by scoring a crucial 131 in the third Test and a fluid 55 while chasing 192 in the Ranchi Test.
Now, in the fifth Test, the 36-year-old Mumbaikar could accomplish another feat. Rohit needs just 121 more runs to surpass the Test aggregate of former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who played 58 Test matches for India between 2004 and 2016. Gambhir scored 4154 runs at an average of 41.95, which includes nine centuries.
Rohit Sharma’s Test tally currently stands at 4034 runs, but those runs have come at a healthier average of 44.82 in the same number of Tests that Gautam Gambhir has played (58 Tests). Rohit has also scored 11 Test centuries, two more than Gambhir.
However, it was only after Rohit Sharma was promoted as an opener in the Test side that he began to flourish in red-ball cricket and firmly establish himself as one of the all-time, all-format batting greats. In 31 Tests, in which Rohit has featured as an opener, he has scored 2449 runs, averaging close to 50 and scoring eight centuries.
It has been quite some career for the captain, who made his debut in Test cricket in 2013, some six years after he made his international debut for India. He scored a fascinating 177-run knock in his debut innings against West Indies after coming in at No.6, and followed it up with an unbeaten 111 at the Wankhede Stadium in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell international fixture.
Rohit will be keen to end the ongoing series against England on a high, and winning by a 4-1 scoreline will be his priority.
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