Watch: Rohit Sharma’s brilliant innings came to an end when he was bounced out by Mark Wood in the evening session at Rajkot, falling to a concerted short-ball plan.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
Rohit reached his 11th Test hundred shortly after tea on the first day. He put on a mammoth 204-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja to bring India’s innings back from 33-3 in the morning session. By the time he reached three figures, India were in control of the first innings at 237-3, with debutants Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel next in to bat.
Desperately needing a wicket, Ben Stokes brought Wood back on for his fourth spell of the day. Wood had taken two of India’s three wickets to fall in the morning session, getting Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill both caught behind the wicket. He signalled his intended line of attack when he came on to Rohit immediately, banging a ball in short which Rohit pulled for a single.
Hitman leading the team from the front 💪#RohitSharma #India #INDvsENG #Cricket #Tests pic.twitter.com/yy3vpXyC5t
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) February 15, 2024
Despite being hit for six by Jadeja off the following ball and conceding another boundary in his next over, Wood persisted with the tactic. It paid off in his third over back into the attack.
Rohit went after another bouncer from Wood, attempting to pull over the leg side boundary. However, he was only able to get a top edge, the ball ballooning up to Stokes in the ring to give him a tame catch. The celebrations between captain and bowler were gleeful at a plan paying off.
The wicket brought Rohit’s innings to an end for 131 off 196 balls. It was Rohit’s third Test century against England and his third in the last 12 months.
