India opener Rohit Sharma wants to play his shots and remain positive despite falling to a rash stroke just before lunch on the second day of the first Test against England.
Rohit and KL Rahul resumed play on Thursday for India at Nottingham and exercised patience to negate the English seamers in the first hour. While Rahul slowly upped the scoring rate, Rohit continued to fortify one end before holing out to the fine leg fielder on the fence for 36, moments before the close of the first session.
Speaking at a media interaction post play on Thursday, Rohit said: "I will continue to play my strokes. Yes, you feel disappointed when you get out while trying those shots. It's a very thin line between getting out like that or finding a boundary. You got to think positive. I know it was around lunch but if I see the ball in my area, I have to play my shots."
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Rohit's dismissal was followed by a streak of wickets for India as England clawed back into the game. Jimmy Anderson struck twice in succession as he removed Cheteshwar Pujara (4) and skipper Virat Kohli for a first-ball duck before Ajinkya Rahane was run out at 5. India eventually ended the day at 125/4 with KL Rahul (57 not out) and Rishabh Pant (7 not out) at the crease after a rain interruption curtailed the day's play.
Rohit's overseas run as an opener that began in Australia in early January has seen him post 219 runs in seven innings with a lone fifty despite imposing a profound technique against the seaming and swinging deliveries.
The 34-year-old said he does not intend to worry with a string of low scores while acknowledging the changes employed in his approach to batting. "You've got to change (technique) a fair bit and that's something I've done as well. When the ball is moving, there are a lot of technical aspects involved - I am not trying to move too much in the crease, trying to stay still and keep the bat close to the body - all those things add value to your game plan and that's something I am trying to do as an opener," Rohit added.
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Rohit has earned praises from several former cricketers for being calm and composed in the middle, but the batsman does not think too much about it. "Trust me, I personally don't feel like I get extra time while facing these bowlers. I have to be alert every ball because some bowlers suit your style and some may not and that's a challenge."
"It's a milestone for me that I could spend a lot of time in the middle today. They were bowling sharp lines in the first hour and we had to see it through before playing our shots to keep the scoreboard ticking," said Rohit.
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