'Maar maar ke bharta nikaal dia Sharma ne' Shoaib Akhtar on Rohit

The Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar was all praise for Rohit Sharma as he struck a scintillating knock of 119 runs against Australia in the third ODI. Rohit Sharma’s ton compiled with an 89 from Virat Kohli followed by a 35 ball 44* from Shreyas Iyer was enough for the Men in Blue to chase down the total of 287 and clinch the series by 2-1 in the process.

Awestruck by Rohit Sharma’s skill with the bat, this is what the former Pakistan pacer had to say on his YouTube channel.

Shoaib lauds Sharma

When Rohit is on a song then he doesn’t care whether the ball is good or bad because he has so much of time, he has so much of elegance when he plays the shots. It (batting) comes very easy and naturally to him.

Akhtar didn’t hold back in saying that the Hit-Man has shades of Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to shot execution, and especially the uppercut. The speedster also thought that the uppercut Sharma guided for six on Starc’s bowling was similar to the one that the Master Blaster struck against him in the 2003 World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar in disguise?

At a place like M Chinnaswamy, where it is conducive for batting, then Rohit Sharma becomes very ruthless. Usne maar maar ke bharta nikaal dia bowlers ka (He beat the bowlers to a pulp). He went after (Adam) Zampa, went after Mitchell Starc. The cut shot he hit was like the one Sachin (Tendulkar) hit me.

Rohit Sharma’s knock in the decider at Bengaluru rightfully earned him the player of the match award. However, the focus now quickly shifts to New Zealand as the vice-captain of Indian looks to carry on that momentum on Kiwi soil.