What would you do, if your team needed 21 runs of the last over? Well sometime back Yusuf Pathan would have been an instant solution for such a situation. But Team India now has another finisher in their ranks, and this significant quality makes Rohit Gurunath Sharma Dhoni's trump card for this year's T20 World Cup.
One shouldn't have been surprised of Rohit's finishing act, as it was in this very format the Mumbaikar shot into prominence.
Rohit's unbeaten 40 ball 50 against South Africa in the 2007 T20 World Cup came before his IPL blitzkriegs. The 22 year old who took on the mantle at 61/4 powered India into the semi-finals with his match-winning innings.
A gifted player, conventional in style but contemporary in approach, Rohit's highlight in this year's IPL has been his adaptability and the manner in which he has shouldered responsibility.
Rohit has shifted gears depending on the situation and the one fifty in his 16 matches elaborates the manner in which he has paced his innings.
So when he hit 32 runs in 13 balls, Rohit pulled off an improbable victory hitting 22 runs of the last over of the match. Kolkata fell victim to another annihilation act, but such has been this maverick's domination in the death that it has shifted momentum in the space of one over.
362 runs at a strike rate of over hundred with a healthy average of close to 28 only magnifies on the role the vice-captain has played coming at No.5.
While the purists believe this 22 year old has the extra half a second when he plays his shots, they would now admit that in Rohit's armory there also exists the horizontal shots as well as the long handle which he uses at will.
At 22, one can expect Rohit to be a little moody and rash at the best of times and despite his match winning capability this free spirit does get carried away.
Soon after his heroics against Kolkata, Rohit was confronted with a similar situation against Kings XI Punjab, but needlessly fell to an irresponsible shot as Chargers lost from a winning position.
This tendency has annoyed his coaches over the years, and Rohit will need to curb his aggression and approach the situation with a thinking cap as India look to defend their crown in England.
But even if Rohit has a bad outing with the bat, don't discount him out of the match. The Mumbai all-rounder is building a reputation as a bowler even as he chipped in with 11 wickets in the IPL.
A hat-trick against Mumbai Indians only means that this talent takes his bowling seriously, and he could well play the role of a game breaker as Dhoni will look to utilise the handy tweakers of Rohit and Raina in this T20 World Cup.
One area which is turning out to be Rohit's domain is the cover region within the 30 yards circle. And what's been a delight to watch is that it's a fitter Rohit Sharma, who's shown more agility adding to his lightening fast reflexes in the field.
IPL has brought to fore this impact players' hidden talent, strengths and capabilities. And every Indian would only hope that India's latest match winning sensation carries on the good work and the form into the T20 World Cup.
So watch out for Rohit who has now become an indispensable commodity in Dhoni's scheme of things for T20 world cup; and expect the Indian captain to make optimum use of his new and ever improving utility player, the phenomenon called Rohit Sharma.
One shouldn't have been surprised of Rohit's finishing act, as it was in this very format the Mumbaikar shot into prominence.
Rohit's unbeaten 40 ball 50 against South Africa in the 2007 T20 World Cup came before his IPL blitzkriegs. The 22 year old who took on the mantle at 61/4 powered India into the semi-finals with his match-winning innings.
A gifted player, conventional in style but contemporary in approach, Rohit's highlight in this year's IPL has been his adaptability and the manner in which he has shouldered responsibility.
Rohit has shifted gears depending on the situation and the one fifty in his 16 matches elaborates the manner in which he has paced his innings.
So when he hit 32 runs in 13 balls, Rohit pulled off an improbable victory hitting 22 runs of the last over of the match. Kolkata fell victim to another annihilation act, but such has been this maverick's domination in the death that it has shifted momentum in the space of one over.
362 runs at a strike rate of over hundred with a healthy average of close to 28 only magnifies on the role the vice-captain has played coming at No.5.
While the purists believe this 22 year old has the extra half a second when he plays his shots, they would now admit that in Rohit's armory there also exists the horizontal shots as well as the long handle which he uses at will.
At 22, one can expect Rohit to be a little moody and rash at the best of times and despite his match winning capability this free spirit does get carried away.
Soon after his heroics against Kolkata, Rohit was confronted with a similar situation against Kings XI Punjab, but needlessly fell to an irresponsible shot as Chargers lost from a winning position.
This tendency has annoyed his coaches over the years, and Rohit will need to curb his aggression and approach the situation with a thinking cap as India look to defend their crown in England.
But even if Rohit has a bad outing with the bat, don't discount him out of the match. The Mumbai all-rounder is building a reputation as a bowler even as he chipped in with 11 wickets in the IPL.
A hat-trick against Mumbai Indians only means that this talent takes his bowling seriously, and he could well play the role of a game breaker as Dhoni will look to utilise the handy tweakers of Rohit and Raina in this T20 World Cup.
One area which is turning out to be Rohit's domain is the cover region within the 30 yards circle. And what's been a delight to watch is that it's a fitter Rohit Sharma, who's shown more agility adding to his lightening fast reflexes in the field.
IPL has brought to fore this impact players' hidden talent, strengths and capabilities. And every Indian would only hope that India's latest match winning sensation carries on the good work and the form into the T20 World Cup.
So watch out for Rohit who has now become an indispensable commodity in Dhoni's scheme of things for T20 world cup; and expect the Indian captain to make optimum use of his new and ever improving utility player, the phenomenon called Rohit Sharma.
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