India captain Rohit Sharma stumbled a bit whilst walking down the stairs at The Oval right before the toss. Sharma, who had been hit on his right thumb in the nets on the eve of the match, managed to avoid even a tiny bit of damage moments before winning the toss and electing to bowl in ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023 final against Australia today.
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Playing his first Test match away from home in almost 21 months, it is worth a mention that Sharma’s last overseas Test had also come at this venue. Having missed six consecutive Tests outside of India in this period due to a combination of COVID-19 and injuries, all of this hadn’t allowed Sharma to participate in the fifth Test against England last year and the subsequent tours of South Africa and Bangladesh.
Hence, the last thing which the Indian team management needed on the day was losing Sharma to what would’ve been an unfortunate injury.
Rohit Sharma Stumbles In Front Of Fan’s Banner For Virat Kohli
Co-incidentally, Sharma lost his balance right in front of a banner which had the mention of his predecessor and former Indian captain Virat Kohli.
“Virat You Will Always Be My Captain,” read a banner at the stadium on Day 1.
That being said, it appears unlikely that the banner even managed to grasp Sharma’s attention. “Ye kaisa prepare hoke aya hai [What is this preparation],” read the caption of a fan’s tweet which comprised this video.
ye kaisa prepare hoke aya hai 😭 pic.twitter.com/v9Uh2sObLV
— sourabh (@calmwala) June 7, 2023
Leading India for the seventh time in this format, it is noteworthy that this is Sharma’s first Test away from home in the leadership role time. Kohli, on the other hand, was the captain of the national team away from home 36 times out of his 68 Tests as captain. Out of 36, nine (three wins) had come in England.
Virat Kohli Hopeful Of Another Rohit Sharma Masterclass At The Oval
Speaking in a video published on the official website of the ICC (International Cricket Council) in the morning, Kohli acknowledged Sharma’s “not an easy job” of an opening batter in Test cricket. Laying emphasis on how Sharma appears to have more time than his contemporaries, Kohli hoped for another masterclass from him at this particular ground.
“Opening is not an easy job and he [Rohit Sharma] has done a wonderful job, opening the innings for us. He has performed well in all formats, enjoy watching him, especially from the other end, and hopefully, he can repeat his performance of what he did in Oval last time.”
For those who don’t know, Sharma had scored a match-winning eighth Test century in his inaugural Test at The Oval in 2021.
