A century means nothing if team doesn’t win: Rohit

Perth, January 13

Rohit Sharma’s last three hundreds have come in a losing cause and he’s understandably a little upset about it. He smashed an unbeaten 171 in the first ODI against Australia but the home team comfortably won by five wickets in the Perth ODI.
“It was a great knock, it’s always important to start the series on a positive note. But it was disappointing not to be on the winning side because that is what matters at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter how many runs you score if the team doesn’t end up winning,” Rohit told bcci.tv.
“Personally, it was important that I got the team off to a good start and then carried on the momentum from there.”
Now known for scoring big hundreds in the 50-over format, Rohit is happy that he is carrying on the good work after getting a start.
“We always talk about this in team meeting that one batsman needs to carry on and bat as long as possible. One set batsman batting till the end makes a huge difference. I feel I have been doing that of late. I have been getting past 100 and then trying my best to get bigger scores after the century.
“Hundred is just a milestone, but you have to look at it from the team’s perspective as well. I want to get big hundreds for the team.”
For a batsman, it’s important to analyse the conditions and the situation and then plan and pace his innings accordingly.
“It is something that I have been doing of late. I assess the situation initially and then accelerate. You have to be alert and shot selection becomes very important. I had a certain gameplan and I was trying to execute it. Once I got into my zone, it was important to carry on and make it big from there,” he added.
Nevertheless, the team finished on the losing side. “We need to see where we went wrong,” was all Rohit could offer.