Rohit Sharma’s batting position changed, but his poor form remained the same. The Indian captain returned to his opening slot in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG on Friday, but it ended in a disappointing way.
Team India’s pace star, Jasprit Bumrah, delivered a strong performance, taking 4 wickets for 99 runs as India bowled out Australia for 474 shortly after lunch. Former Australian captain Steve Smith was the top scorer with a brilliant 140 runs.
Rohit, who missed the first Test in Perth, has been struggling with his form. In the two Tests he played earlier in the series, at Adelaide and Brisbane, he managed to score only 19 runs. During those matches, Rohit batted at No. 6 while KL Rahul opened the innings.
In the MCG Test, Rohit returned to his role as an opener. India needed him to lead from the front and score runs, especially in the favorable batting conditions. However, Australian captain Pat Cummins continued to trouble Rohit.
Rohit started his innings with a good shot straight down the ground for 3 runs. But just 3 balls later, Cummins struck back. Cummins bowled a short-of-length ball outside off-stump, which could have been left alone. Instead, Rohit tried to pull it half-heartedly. The ball took the top edge and went high in the air. Scott Boland ran from mid-on and took an easy catch, ending Rohit’s innings after just 5 balls.
This was the seventh time Cummins dismissed Rohit in 13 innings. With this, Cummins equaled the record of captains who have dismissed an opposition captain most times in Test cricket.
Captains Dismissing Opposition Captains Most Times in Tests:
- 5 times: Ted Dexter dismissed by Richie Benaud
- 5 times: Sunil Gavaskar dismissed by Imran Khan
- 5 times: Rohit Sharma dismissed by Pat Cummins *
- 4 times: Gulabrai Ramchand dismissed by Richie Benaud
- 4 times: Clive Lloyd dismissed by Kapil Dev
- 4 times: Peter May dismissed by Richie Benaud
Cummins joins legends like Richie Benaud and Imran Khan with this unique achievement.
