Former Indian team captain Rohit Sharma proved that he still has cricket left in him by batting powerfully in the ODI series on Australia tour. Before that series, questions were being raised on his career but ‘Hitman’ responded well by scoring the most runs in the series. But Rohit now faces a big challenge because the ODI series against South Africa is going to be a tough test for him and the statistics also testify that he has struggled the most against this team.
The ODI series between India and South Africa is starting from 30th November in Ranchi. There will be special attention on Rohit and Virat Kohli in this series because these days both these legends are under the scanner due to speculations of their retirement. But Rohit will be in more focus than Kohli because age and form are being repeatedly cited as obstacles to his chances of playing in the World Cup 2027.
Now age cannot stop Rohit Sharma but form is in his hands. By scoring a century and a half-century in the ODI series against Australia, the star opener had indicated that he is still equally effective in this format. But scoring runs against Australia and in Australia was never a challenge for Rohit. The real test for Rohit has always been against South Africa, no matter what the format. The situation is no different in ODIs and this is the same team against which their performance remains under question.
Rohit had scored a brilliant match-winning century against South Africa in the World Cup 2019. Even before this, he has scored centuries on two different occasions, but this is the only story of his performance against this team. Rohit, who has scored 11370 runs at an average of 49 in ODI cricket, has scored only 806 runs in 25 innings of 26 matches against South Africa. Their average is only 33.58, which is the worst compared to all other big teams.
Overall, out of these 25 innings, he has been able to cross the fifty mark in only 5 innings. That means in a way he has failed to score big in 20 innings. These figures on record do not suit a batsman of Rohit’s class and stature. In such a situation, Hitman has a big opportunity to give a strong performance against his toughest opponent and show the team management that he can play till the World Cup 2027.
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