No regret of playing that shot off Lyon: Rohit on dismissal at Gabba

Rohit looked in good touch during his 44 off 74 balls but was dismissed trying to loft Lyon over mid-wicket, the kind of shots that has often brought about his dismissal

Brisbane: Rohit Sharma understands the criticism that his untimely dismissal has invited but the India vice-captain has “no regrets” about going after Nathan Lyon, saying that’s his way of putting bowlers under pressure.

Rohit looked in good touch during his 44 off 74 balls but was dismissed trying to loft Lyon over mid-wicket, the kind of shots that has often brought about his dismissal even during earlier Test matches.

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“You always have a plan and I actually have no regret of playing that shot. It is something that I always like to do — put pressure on bowlers. Nathan Lyon is a smart bowler and he bowled into me which made it difficult for me to get some elevation,” Rohit said at the post-match virtual conference.

His shot selection invited criticism from the commentary box. India were 62 for two at stumps when Rohit could have gone for a big score after a good start. Rohit understands the disappointment but in his defence would explain why he went for that kind of a high-risk stroke.

“It’s not that it is (that shot) coming out of nowhere. It’s a shot that I have played well in the past. That’s something that I back myself to play and that’s the kind of role I play in this team. When it looks like that, it looks bad, but I don’t think too much as my focus is to make it count once I am in,” he said.

“Having said that, there is a process I like to follow. Sometimes you get out and sometimes it goes over the ropes. Unfortunate and sad dismissal in the end to be honest. Like I said, those are my shots and I will keep playing them,” the senior player was forthright about his mind-set.

As he has always maintained, he doesn’t have much time for his critics and would rather focus on the role his team wants him to perform. “The team has shown lot of confidence in me. It’s just that I have to do what the team expects me to do and not worry about what happens anywhere else or what people talk about.”

“In Sydney, there wasn’t much bounce, so I was staying on leg stump of the ball and here I knew the line and lengths particulary of the two right handers (Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood), they try and test you outside the off-stump all the time. So, here, I came a little bit on the off-stump to make sure that I cover the line and don’t push my hands outside the off-stump. That’s the little adjustment that I did,” he explained.

Also read:

Gabba Test: Rohit’s dismissal puts India on backfoot on Day 2