For club officials who refused to talk about what happened, the 39-year-old Rohit Sharma he produced a knock that left every cricket fan in awe. Chasing a target of 388 in the series and looking to extend his career beyond the tournament, Rohit became the first Indian to score an ODI hundred at Lord’s on Sunday. Rohit’s knock of 138 off 110 balls is set to spark serious debate over his place in India’s ODI World Cup plans. But it should not be lost on the caretakers of Indian cricket that India have lost three of the last few ODIs as India went down by 27 runs on a pitch that was very close to India’s home ground. Head coach Gautam Gambhir have flown in from London after winning just one match on a white-ball tour that included a T20I torture at the hands of Ireland. Shubman Gill is yet to win a series since taking over the captaincy from Rohit last October. Talks about India’s preparations for next year’s World Cup have revolved around Rohit at the top of the order. As he has been doing of late, Rohit fired at the end of the series. And as India has been doing in recent times, their batting is coming second to the opposition in the most successful matches. The big thing is that it is now clear that the ball is without air without Jasprit Bumrah, who was sidelined due to injury in the last ODI in Cardiff. The English batting feasted on the young Indian bowling as Ben Duckett scored 141 from 135 and Jacob Bethell hit 91 from 93 followed by Joe Root’s unbeaten74 from 48 and Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 13-ball 41. Rohit did what he had to do to tell the team management and selectors that he could not play for India. The innings may have lacked the consistency and swagger that one associates with Rohit, but it screamed for his bravery and mental strength as a hero. The start given by Gill and Rohit was impressive with the duo moving around 5-5.5 runs in the first 20 overs of the over which required close runs and 7.5 runs in the over. Rohit retired as India lost Gill for 77 from 84 balls at the rate of 147 and Virat Kohli came out with the aim of chasing this down. Rohit’s struggle against a good length ball on the stump was evident as he waited for the shorter balls to produce his shots. His first boundary down came around the 30 over mark after settling down. It looked like he was in a familiar zone with Kohli in his ear at the other end. The chase started after 25 overs and was heard when Rohit fell in the 39th over. With a 103-run partnership in about 14 overs, Kohli and Rohit revived the momentum but hopes of a miracle ended when Kohli departed for 74 off 60.
