Rohit Sharma gets blast from the past as India skipper reveals reason behind rare experiment of batting at No.7 vs WI

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not feature in the top order of the Indian batting lineup in their first ODI against the West Indies on Thursday.

In fact, while Rohit eventually came in late in the innings and took India over the line, Kohli didn’t bat at all in the match. India ended up chasing a target of 115 with five wickets to spare.

The West Indies were blown away for just 114 runs in 23 overs after Rohit won the toss and chose to field first in Barbados. The pitch surprised everyone with the amount of spin it offered and Kuldeep Yadav ended up taking four wickets in just three overs. Ravindra Jadeja took three as West Indies lose seven wickets between the 16th and 23rd overs.

It was Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill who opened the innings for India in the chase. India themselves faced some trouble keeping their wickets intact and after Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur and finally Kishan fell, Rohit arrived at the crease. He finished the job with Ravindra Jadeja at the other end by hitting a four in the 23rd over.

It was the first time since he played at No.7 since he made his debut in international cricket all the way back in 2007 and Rohit was aware of that little fact. “I made my debut for India and was batting at number 7, reminded me of those days,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Rohit had made his international debut in an ODI match against Ireland on June 23, 2007. While he didn’t get a chance to bat in that match, he batted just three days later in the first of three ODIs that India played against South Africa in Belfast, Ireland. Rohit scored eight in nine balls before falling to Jacques Kallis as India lost by four wickets. Rahul Dravid, who is now head coach of the team, was India’s captain at the time and Sachin Tendulkar had been run out on 99 in that match.

‘Wanted to give game time to guys who have come in’
Rohit said that the team wanted to give the rest of the batters, particularly those who were not part of the Test team, some time in the middle which is why he and Kohli chose to not play in their regular positions. “We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this,” he said.