Dubai [UAE], February 23 : India captain Rohit Sharma's tough run against Pakistan ace Shaheen Afridi continued during the high-octane Champions Trophy clash in Dubai on Sunday though he hit some fine strokes to set the pace for India's innings.
Rohit continued to ride high on his prolific form in the ODIs against Pakistan in the high-stakes Champions Trophy clash. He sought to tear through Pakistan's pace attack, spearheaded by Shaheen and Naseem Shah.
The seasoned opener demonstrated his sheer power and aggressive strokeplay by taking the attack to Naseem in the second over. After edging the ball away for four, Rohit flexed his muscles and dispatched the ball into the second tier beyond deep backward square leg.
In Naseem's next over, Rohit danced down to the pitch to convert the full-length delivery into a half-volley and send it sailing over the wide mid-off boundary rope for a four.
Rohit continued to exhibit versatility in his shots, but this time, it was against Shaheen. He chipped the ball over the infield to add another boundary to his name. Shaheen savoured the sweet taste of revenge on the next delivery by producing an absolute ripper.
With a fast inswinging yorker, the left-armer broke through Rohit's stance and cleaned up the middle stump. Rohit stood motionless, trying to understand what had struck him before walking back to the dressing room with 20 runs from 15 deliveries.
This was the third time Shaheen dismissed Rohit in the ODIs in five innings. The experienced opener has faced 10 overs from Shaheen and racked up 53 runs at an average of 17.66 while striking at 88.33.
While Rohit continued to struggle against Pakistan's ace left-armer, spinner Kuldeep Yadav thrived against the defending champions in the ODIs.
He cleaned up Pakistan's middle order and returned with figures of 3/40 in his nine-over spell. After another impressive outing against India's bitter rival, Kuldeep now boasts 15 wickets against Pakistan in the ODIs, averaging 14.00 at a strike rate of 21.6.